MELBOURNE, Australia – Ashleigh Barty and Julia Goerges got their Australian Open doubles campaign off to a successful start as they overcame the wildcard pairing of Jessica Moore and Astra Sharma, 6-2, 6-3.
A break of serve in the opening game laid the foundations for what proved a successful outing for the Australian-German partnership, who eased through thanks to two breaks in each set.
The home duo, meanwhile, were unable to offer a significant threat against their more experienced opponents as they were unable to create a single break point over the 68-minute match, winning only five points against the serve in the second set.
It was a strong start from a couple who have gained renown in singles in recent years, Barty winning the 2019 French Open and climbing to WTA World No.1, but whose careers began with significant success on the doubles court.
Next up, they could face No.2 seeds Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic, who play Raluca Olaru and Dalila Jakupovic on Friday.
Sixth seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Jelena Ostapenko enjoyed a straight-sets win over Maria Sakkari and Ajla Tomljanovic, 7-5, 6-3, and the partnership known as McCoco continued to progress as American teens Coco Gauff and Caty McNally breezed past Jil Teichman and Karolina Muchova in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.
Meanwhile, Desirae Krawczyk and Jessica Pegula, Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara, and Kaitlyn Christian and Alexa Guarachi all won through to the second round in straight sets.
They were joined by 13th seeds Veronika Kudermetova and Alison Riske, and Han Xinyun and Zhu Lin.
