Aussie wildcard Daria Saville is off to a winning start at a WTA 250 tournament in Hobart this week.
Hobart, Australia, 8 January 2024 | Leigh Rogers
Daria Saville has made an impressive start at the Hobart International, beating world No.46 Anna Blinkova in the opening round.
The Aussie wildcard bounced back from a slow start to record a 3-6 6-4 6-3 victory at the Domain Tennis Centre’s Centre Court this evening.
It is the 29-year-old’s biggest win, ranking-wise, since August 2022.
Saville, a former world No.20, is competing in Hobart for the first time since 2013, when the then-teenage competitor lost in qualifying.
She did attend the tournament last year, but as a spectator while recovering from knee surgery.
Excited to be competing this summer, Saville made the most of her opportunities against 25-year-old Blinkova. This included winning seven of the eight break points she earned throughout the two-hour and 16-minute battle.
Saville’s second-round opponent is yet to be decided.
The world No.195 will face either sixth-seeded American Sofia Kenin, a former world No.4 and the Australian Open 2020 champion, or Belgian Greet Minnen.
Earlier today, Kimberly Birrell and Olivia Gadecki advanced to the doubles quarterfinals at the WTA 250 event.
The Aussie wildcards edged out a hard-fought 6-7(2) 6-1 [10-8] victory against Georgia’s Oksana Kalashnikova and Brit Maia Lumsden.
This propels 21-year-old Gadecki into her second career WTA doubles quarterfinal, matching her performance in Hobart last summer.
Gadecki will be back in action tomorrow, with her opening-round singles match headlining the evening session.
> BUY NOW: Hobart International 2024 tickets
Aussies in action – Hobart
TODAY’S RESULTS
Women’s singles, first round
[WC] Daria Saville (AUS) d Anna Blinkova 3-6 6-4 6-3
Women’s doubles, first round
[WC] Kimberly Birrell (AUS)/Olivia Gadecki (AUS) d Oksana Kalashnikova (GEO)/Maia Lumsden (GBR) 6-7(2) 6-1 [10-8]
Guo Hanyu (CHN)/Jiang Xinyu (CHN) d [WC] Elysia Bolton (AUS)/Alexandra Bozovic (AUS) 6-2 6-2
COMING UP
Women’s singles, first round
[WC] Olivia Gadecki (AUS) v [4] Wang Xinyu (CHN)
Women’s singles, second round
[WC] Daria Saville (AUS) v TBC
> VIEW: Hobart International 2024 women’s singles draw
Women’s doubles, quarterfinals
[WC] Kimberly Birrell (AUS)/Olivia Gadecki (AUS) v [3] Eri Hozumi (JPN)/Makoto Ninomiya (JPN)
Find your way to play: Visit play.tennis.com.au to get out on court…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Tennis.com.au – Tennis Australia…