Former finalist Rybakina through to second round of Australian Open

Elena Rybakina kept pace with the rest of the Top 10 players who have taken the court thus far at this year’s Australian Open, advancing to the second round on Tuesday.

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Kaja Juvan, the World No. 100, put up an inspired fight, but Rybakina proved too solid, winning 6-4, 6-3 in 1 hour and 12 minutes at Margaret Court Arena.

“It was not an easy match,” Rybakina said in her on-court interview. “(In the) first set I was struggling a lot on the return, and I’m happy with the serve; it really worked today. Kaja, she’s a good player and hopefully we’ll play many more times.”

The 2023 finalist has now won seven straight opening-round matches in Melbourne to begin her career. And in a bit of déjà vu, she also defeated Juvan in the second round during her run to the final that year.

There were plenty of signs that point to Rybakina potentially making another deep run Down Under on Tuesday:

Stat spotlight: Chief among them? You guessed it: Rybakina’s serve again set the tone, as she routinely raced to 40-0 leads and held to love three times. But it was her second serve that truly separated her from Juvan. She won 10 of 18 points behind it (56%), a key reason she didn’t face a break point until the final game of the match.

Juvan more than held her own on serve, winning 73% of her first-serve points, but the drop-off on her second serve -- down to 37% (7 of 19) -- left her vulnerable.

Key moment: Rybakina exploited that flaw with one break in each set, but it was her late move in the opening set that served as the catalyst for her win. After generating minimal pressure early, she found herself double break point up at 5-4 and converted with a backhand winner to take the set.

From there, she fully settled in and played her own game. She notched a forehand winner to break for 3-1 in the second set and closed out the match with her fifth ace a few games later.

What’s next: The World No. 5 will face Varvara Gracheva in the second round. Rybakina leads their head-to-head 2-0, including a straight-sets win in their most recent meeting at Indian Wells in 2023.

She has dropped just three games in each of their first two matches.

Ostapenko earns first Australian Open win since 2024

After bowing out in the first round last year, No. 24 seed Jelena Ostapenko returned to the winner's circle in Melbourne, advancing to the second round with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Rebecca Sramkova in 1 hour and 17 minutes.

In typical Ostapenko fashion, the match wasn't without its twists, but it was an encouraging performance following her retirement in her tune-up before the season's first major. The former French Open champion finished with 25 winners to 19 unforced errors and won 81% of her first-serve points.

After the two traded breaks early, Ostapenko earned the decisive break for a 4-3 lead before serving out the opening set a few games later. She then worked her way to a 5-1 lead in the second set, only for Sramkova to mount a late push and close the gap to 5-4.

But this time, Ostapenko allowed no further drama, converting her third match point to slam the door shut.

She now faces another tough test in the second round in Wang Xinyu, who reached the Auckland final to open the season. They've met twice before, each winning once, with Wang taking their most recent battle in Indian Wells last year.