MELBOURNE, Australia - Carla Suárez Navarro bade farewell to Melbourne in what will be her final Australian Open as she lost 6-3, 7-5 to Poland's Iga Swiatek.
The 31-year-old, who has announced her intention to retire at the end of the 2020 season, beat 11th seed Aryna Sabalenka in the first round, but could not get past her opponent - 13 years her junior - who will face Donna Vekic in the third round.
Termino mi último Abierto de Australia. ¡Siempre estará en mi recuerdo y lo echaré de menos!
— Carla Suárez Navarro (@CarlaSuarezNava) January 23, 2020
Saying 👋🏻 to my last @AustralianOpen. A place I'll never forget. Thanks for the memories! pic.twitter.com/C02faxZT3p
Yulia Putintseva was the eventual victor in an enthralling epic encounter with last year's semifinalist Danielle Collins, coming through 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 for the right to play fourth seed Simona Halep next up.
Elsewhere, Great Britain's Heather Watson could not repeat her victory from the Hobart International, and lost to 16th seed Elise Mertens 6-3, 6-0.
Watson had beaten the Belgian 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-5 in an intriguing quarterfinal last week.
Mertens will next play Catherine Bellis, who continued her comeback from injury by knocking out 20th seed Karolina Muchova, 6-4, 6-4.
Italy's Camila Giorgi progressed against former Melbourne quarterfinalist Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-1, to set up a clash with 17th seed Angelique Kerber.
Other players who secured their place in the third round include Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Zarina Diyas, and Anett Kontaveit.
