Another former Grand Slam champion, Canada’s Bianca Andreescu, went back to basics as she cleared the first hurdle in qualifying with a straight sets win over French teenager Daphnee Mpetshi Perricard, who was watched courtside by big brother and ATP star Giovanni.
The 25-year-old former world No.4 told Dan Imhoff that going back to the lower levels of professional tennis recently had been the key to banking matches and building confidence.
Czech former world No.1 Karolina Pliskova is another top player in the women’s qualifying draw and had to hit back after losing the first set 6-0 to get past South Korea’s Yeonwoo Ku.
Among other notable names, there was a late win for young American Emilio Nava, who afterwards discussed how he sees his future game development.
American No.3 seed Ashlyn Krueger, fifth seed Lulu Sun from New Zealand, No.4 seed Coleman Wong from Hong Kong and sixth-seeded Slovak Alex Molcan all progressed to the second round.