World No 2 Aryna Sabalenka and 4th-ranked Elena Rybakina opened their campaigns Down Under with straight sets wins at the Brisbane International presented by Evie on Wednesday, but Naomi Osaka’s comeback was stopped in its tracks by Karolina Pliskova in a 3-set blockbuster.
The week is definitely shorter than I wanted it to be. Overall, I think it was a great match and I had a lot of fun. I’ve trained so hard since giving birth, I need to enjoy these moments. I saw the stats after and my break points could have been better, but I think other than that we both played really well … so hopefully she says the same thing! Naomi Osaka
Sabalenka dispatched Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti in 58 minutes with a commanding scoreline of 6-3 6-0, while, later in the day, Rybakina saw off local qualifier Olivia Gadecki, 6-4 6-1.
The top seed’s victorious Brisbane debut extended her Australian winning streak to 12, as last year, the 25-year-old Belarusian went undefeated to sweep the titles in Adelaide and the Australian Open, where she captured her first major title.
“I’m super happy to play in front of fans here in Australia,” Sabalenka said afterwards.“They’re amazing. I’m not focusing on the record I’m making right now. I’m just focusing on myself and bringing my best tennis in every match I play.”
Facing the 52nd-ranked Bronzetti in her first match of the season, Sabalenka broke open the match with a break for 4-2 in the opening set, and proceeded to win 8 of the next 9 games, overpowering the Italian to lay down a marker on her season.
The top seed, who fired 8 aces in the match, and saved the one break point she faced, will face China’s Zhu Lin next, after the 15th seed squeaked past American Danielle Collins, 1-6 6-3 7-6(7) in the last match of Day 4.
Elena Rybakina saw off local hope Olivia Gadecki to set up a meeting with Elise Mertens next
© Chris Hyde/Getty Images
Former Wimbledon Champion Rybakina opened her season with a stiff challenge from 21-year-old Australian Olivia Gadecki, but the Kazakh held off the qualifier to win in 72 minutes.
In her tournament debut, Gadecki was bidding to extend her perfect record against Top 5 opposition, the Queenslander having won her only prior meeting against the game’s elite when she defeated then-ranked No 4 Sofia Kenin at the 2021 Phillip Island Trophy.
Coming off a 3-set win over fellow Aussie Kimberly Birrell, Gadecki held her own in the baseline exchanges with Rybakina, who was playing her first match since the WTA Finals in Cancun.
Only a single break of serve separated the two in the first set, with Rybakina coming through late to break to 5-4 and serve out the opener.
Both proved efficient when landing their first serve, but Rybakina’s second delivery made the difference, and the 2022 Wimbledon champion won 67% of her second-serve points in the first set, while Gadecki managed just 39%.
With a set in hand, Rybakina raced away in the second to seal the deal, unbroken for the match and saving the 3 break points she faced.
Rybakina will face Elise Mertens next in the Round of 16 after the Belgian 13th seed outlasted fromer US Open champion Sloane Stephens, 3-6 6-1 6-3.
Karolina Pliskova got the better of Naomi Osaka, coming from a set down to beat the new mum
© Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images
Meanwhile, Pliskova gave former World No 1 and new mum Osaka a reality check on her return to tournament tennis by rallying for a 3-6 7-6(4) 6-4 win in a high quality 2nd-round match in Brisbane.
Osaka had eased through her first tour match in 15 months on Monday after taking time out of the game to give birth to a daughter, but Pliskova, also a former World No 1, proved an altogether tougher prospect.
The contest started well for Osaka, a 4-times Grand Slam champion, after she banged down 5 aces to lock up the opening set in 37 minutes against her rusty-looking Czech opponent, who had received a bye into the 2nd-round.
Pliskova settled and found her rhythm in the second, and although Osaka’s rock solid serve repeatedly got her out of trouble until the tiebreak, she was unable to prevent the Czech from levelling up the contest.
An early break allowed Pliskova to get her nose in front in the decider, and she saved 3 break points in the next game to retain her advantage over her 26-year-old opponent.
That was as close as Osaka could get, and Pliskova showed the quality of her own serve to ease into the 3rd-round and a meeting with Jelena Ostapenko, the 3rd seed from Latvia, who was a 6-1 6-4 winner over Camila Giorgi from Italy.
“I’m happy to start with a win, the start of the season is always important, I thought I played quite well,” said Pliskova, who won the Brisbane title in 2017, 2019 and 2020, in her on-court interview. “I thought my focus [made the difference], you can practice for as long as you like, but a match is always a bit different.”
Despite the early loss, Naomi Osaka gave a the thumbs to taking positives from the match against Karolina Pliskova on Wednesday
© Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images
Osaka will take plenty of positives from the experience, particularly the 14 aces she fired, as she looks ahead to her return to the Australian Open, a tournament she won in 2019 and 2021.
“The week is definitely shorter than I wanted it to be,” Osaka admitted in her news conference. “Overall, I think it was a great match and I had a lot of fun.
“I’ve trained so hard since giving birth, I need to enjoy these moments.”
Osaka won the first set but Pliskova recovered and fired 16 aces and struck 50 winners, saving 10 of the 12 breakpoint chances she faced, and making amends for her 11 double-faults.
“I saw the stats after and my break points could have been better,” Osaka said, “but I think other than that we both played really well … so hopefully she says the same thing!”
A former finalist at Wimbledon and the US Open now ranked 39th, the 31-year-old Pliskova was playing for the first time since September after a left wrist injury curtailed her 2023 season.
“A lot of things to improve, but a good start,” said Pliskova, who had her left wrist and hand taped for the opening match of the day on Pat Rafter Arena.
Osaka’s next match will be an exhibition in Melbourne on Rod Laver Arena, the main court for the Australian Open, next week.
Four seeds fell in Brisbane on Wednesday, with Luidmila Samsonova leading the exit after her Russian compatriot Mirra Andreeva comprehensively beat her 6-2 6-1, joined by Ekaterina Alexandrova, the Russian 7th seed, who was dispatched by Argentine qualifier Julia Riera, 6-3 6-4, while Sorana Cirstea, the 19th seed from Romania was outlasted by Linda Noskova, the 19-year old Czech, 6-4 4-6 6-4, and Frenchwoman Clara Burel took down Anhelina Kalinina, seeded 12 from Ukraine, 6-4 6-1.
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