Hontama, Zheng Qinwen set Australian Open qualifying clash

One week after meeting in the first round of Melbourne Summer Set 1, No.28 seed Mai Hontama
Hontama, 22, needed just 62 minutes to race past 2019 junior champion Liang En-Shuo, of Chinese Taipei 6-0, 6-4. The Japanese player, who upset Caroline Garcia
Highlights: Hontama d. Rogers
In the first set, No.149-ranked Hontama dropped just three points behind her delivery, while coming out on top of multi-deuce tussles in each of Liang's service games. In the second, she overturned a 3-1 deficit to reel off five of the last six games, sealing victory with her third ace.
Zheng triumphed 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the pair's Melbourne clash, and went on to make her WTA semifinal debut in just her fourth main draw. The big-hitting Chinese 19-year-old was in supreme form against Australia's Seone Mendez, winning 6-3, 6-2 in 66 minutes. Zheng struck 24 winners in total, including 10 aces.
Read more: Five things to know about Zheng Qinwen
Both Zheng and Hontama will be seeking to reach their first Grand Slam main draw. Indeed, this week marks Zheng's major qualifying debut.
Trevisan, Niemeier storm through in straight sets; Hartono upsets Bonaventure
Former Roland Garros quarterfinalist and No.2 seed Martina Trevisan
Trevisan, who had to save match point against Irina Fetecau in the first round, will face No.19 seed Olga Govortsova next after the Belarusian overcame Daniela Seguel 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. The 33-year-old mother-of-one, who reached her career high of No.35 in June 2008, is bidding for her first Australian Open main-draw berth since 2016.
No.17 seed Jule Niemeier
Niemeier faces an intriguing third-round matchup against the Netherlands' Arianne Hartono
Read more: Jule Niemeier
Hartono made her WTA main draw debut in Luxembourg last September, where she impressed with her neat aggression in taking Jelena Ostapenko
A Grand Slam main draw debut will be on the line for both Niemeier and Hartono.
Avanesyan surprises Baindl; Tsurenko, Bolsova advance
Russia's Elina Avanesyan
However, Avanesyan scored a quality 6-2, 7-5 win over No.23 seed Kateryna Baindl (née Kozlova), coming through in 1 hour and 27 minutes. She will next face another Ukrainian former Top 100 player in the form of No.6 seed Lesia Tsurenko
Elsewhere, there were wins for two Moldova-born Spaniards. Former World No.88 Aliona Bolsova
Former Top 50 players Christina McHale and Viktoria Kuzmova also enjoyed wins that potentially indicate an uptick in form. No.166-ranked McHale took the honours in an all-American derby 6-4, 6-3 over Francesca Di Lorenzo, while Slovak World No.158 Kuzmova defeated Jana Fett
2022 Australian Open: Final qualifying round
Katie Volynets
[2] Martina Trevisan
Julia Grabher
Hailey Baptiste
[5] Viktoriya Tomova
[6] Lesia Tsurenko
Christina McHale (USA) vs. Emina Bektas
[8] Kamilla Rakhimova
Jang Su Jeong (KOR) vs. Rebeka Masarova
Arianne Hartono
[11] Harriet Dart
Indy De Vroome (NED) vs. [25] Stefanie Voegele (SUI)
[13] Zheng Qinwen (CHN) vs. [28] Mai Hontama
Cristina Bucsa
[15] Nao Hibino
Viktoria Kuzmova (SVK) vs. Aliona Bolsova