Australian Daria Saville begins her grass-court season in style, eliminating one of the top seeds at a WTA 250 tournament in Great Britain.
Nottingham, Great Britain, 11 June 2024 | Leigh Rogers
Nottingham, Great Britain
Two Australians have advanced to the second round in singles at a WTA 250 tournament in Nottingham.
Daria Saville made an emphatic start to her grass-court season, eliminating world No.42 Clara Burel in the opening round.
World No.84 Saville posted a 6-3 6-3 victory against the fourth-seeded Frenchwoman.
This is Saville’s eighth career top-50 win on grass and just her second since 2019.
The 30-year-old Australian will face another Frenchwoman, world No.64 Diane Parry, in the next round.
Kimberly Birrell continued her impressive form, scoring a 6-3 7-5 victory against British qualifier Emily Appleton.
This is the world No.148’s first WTA-level main-draw win since October 2023.
The in-form Birrell has now won 15 of her past 18 matches, providing plenty of confidence as she prepares for a second-round clash with another qualifier, Italian Lucrezia Stefanini.
Aussies in action – Nottingham
RESULTS
Women’s singles, first round
Daria Saville (AUS) d [4] Clara Burel (FRA) 6-3 6-3
[Q] Kimberly Birrell (AUS) d [Q] Emily Appleton (GBR) 6-3 7-5
COMING UP
Women’s singles, second round
Daria Saville (AUS) v Diane Parry (FRA)
[Q] Kimberly Birrell (AUS) v [Q] Lucrezia Stefanini (ITA)
Women’s doubles, first round
[2] Ellen Perez (AUS)/Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA) v Alycia Parks (USA)/Alana Smith (USA)
‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
Only one match featuring an Australian was completed across a rain-interrupted day at a combined ATP 250 and WTA 250 grass-court tournament in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.
Rinky Hijikata combined with American Mackenzie McDonald to edge out the all-American duo of Sebastian Korda and Tommy Paul in first-round men’s doubles action.
Hijikata and McDonald scored a hard-fought 6-2 6-7(7) [10-7] victory to secure a quarterfinal spot.
Aussies in action – ‘s-Hertogenbosch
RESULTS
Men’s doubles, first round
[WC] Rinky Hijikata (AUS)/Mackenzie McDonald (USA) d Sebastian Korda (USA)/Tommy Paul (USA) 6-2 6-7(7) [10-7]
COMING UP
Men’s singles, first round
[1] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v Bye
[8] Jordan Thompson (AUS) v Milos Raonic (CAN)
Max Purcell (AUS) v Aleksandar Vukic (AUS)
Alexei Popyrin (AUS) v Rinky Hijikata (AUS)
[Q] Tristan Schoolkate (AUS) v [7] Sebastian Korda (USA)
Women’s…
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