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- Mixed fortunes for Aussies in Rabat
Mixed fortunes for Aussies in Rabat
On a day of contrasting results at the Moroccan Open, Australia's Daria Gavrilova crashed out in three sets to Hsieh Su-Wei before Aijla Tomljanovic defeated Fiona Ferro 6-4, 6-4.
Tomljanovic, the 2018 runner-up, produced some scintillating tennis in her straight sets win over French rival Ferro.
The day wasn't as sweet for Gavrilova however, who took Su-Wei to three sets before crashing out of the tournament 1-6, 6-3, 2-6.
Defending champion Elise Mertens, top seed and the only top-20 player in the draw at the Grand Prix de Sar la Princesse Lalla Meryem, needed just over an hour to dispatch Belgian countrywoman Kirsten Flipkens 6-3 6-1.
Johanna Konta, the seventh seed, saved three match points in a memorable comeback against Wang Yafan. Trailing 6-4 6-5, the British star fell to 0-40 in the second second set, before rattling off 12 straight points to win a tie-break and force a decider that she won to progress 4-6 7-6 (7-0) 6-4.
At the Prague Open, Svetlana Kuznetsova easily accounted for 2018 runner-up Mihaela Buzarnescu, defeating the Romanian 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the second round of the Prague Open.
World number-29 Buzarnescu, seeded fourth at the Open was no match for Kuznetsova's powerful first serve, only managing to break the Russian once in a match that lasted little more than an hour.
Elsewhere, Anastasija Sevastova lost in three tough sets to Anastasia Potapova, while fifth seed Danielle Collins was eliminated by fellow American Jennifer Brady.
Wang Qiang avoided becoming the fourth high profile player to pack her bags after the first round, the third seed prevailing 6-3 3-6 6-2 against Margarita Gasparyan.
It was a different story for seventh-seed Viktoria Kuzmova who succumbed 6-3 6-3 to Anna Karolina Schmiedlova. Fortunes were better for sixth seed Katerina Siniakova and ninth seed Barbora Strycova, who claimed straight-sets wins over Dalila Jakupovic and 2017 champion Mona Barthel respectively.