Australia's big hope Maya Joint fought off some early nerves to secure her maiden victory of 2026, gritting out a 7-6(3) 6-4 victory over Sofia Kenin on Day 2 of the Adelaide International at The Drive.
Joint hadn't dropped a set in her two previous meetings with the American, but she was made to work harder for this one, overcoming being broken early in both sets.
"I think I was a bit nervous," Joint admitted when asked about her patchy start. "I really wanted to get my first win of the season.
"I was making a couple unforced errors. I was struggling a little bit on my return. She was also hitting her spots on her serve, playing pretty good tennis today.
"I'm just glad I was able to find a way."
A third set had looked inevitable when Kenin raced ahead 4-1 before 19-year-old Joint, the top-ranked Australian woman, showed problem-solving smarts beyond her tender years to peel off the last five games for victory.
Joint hung deliberately wide while returning on the deuce court, targeted Kenin's less trustworthy forehand wing and mixed spin variations at the right times, setting up a round-of-16 meeting with fellow Aussie Ajla Tomljanovic on Wednesday.
Mateship was temporarily tossed out the window when Rinky Hijikata ousted doubles partner Tristan Schoolkate 6-4 6-4.
Hijikata was the more consistent player against his fellow Australian wildcard - on serve, at the net and from the baseline.
Schoolkate, ranked 97th, became more mistake-prone as the match progressed, the Western Australian coughing up 29 unforced errors to world No.115 Hijikata's 13.
"Yeah, definitely not easy," Hijikata said of playing a close mate on Centre Court. Obviously, Tristan had one hell of a year (2025) and I'm super pumped to see him start the year [2026] in the top 100.
"I've got a bit of catching up [to do] this year."
The result continued Hijikata's sound start to the tennis summer after he advanced from the qualifiers through to the second round of the Brisbane International last week.
"It [2025] wasn't the best year for me [in singles], so I wanted to start strong in 2026 and put my best foot forward," he said.
"I feel like I've put in a lot of hard work and I'm glad it's kind of paying off so far this year."
Hijikata will take on top seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the second round.
In Tuesday's opening fixture, eighth seed Tomas Machac outclassed veteran wildcard James Duckworth 6-3 6-3.
Duckworth took some time to find his range on serve, while Machac was too solid on the ground, chalking up 25 winners and 16 unforced errors to the Sydneysider's 14 and 19.
On Court 4, Gold Coast's Kimberly Birrell defeated Austrian Lucky Loser Anastasia Potapova 6-4 6-4.
Service holds were at a premium in a contest which featured 12 breaks, Birrell converting 7-of-14 to Potapova's 5-of-5.
Birrell advanced to a match-up with unseeded 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, who upset seventh seed Liudmila Samsonova 6-1 4-6 6-2 on Showcourt 1.
Later on Court 4, unpredictable Jelena Ostapenko was forced to retire through illness after frittering away a formidable early advantage against 18-year-old qualifier Tereza Valentova.
Ostapenko, who took out this event in 2024, streaked ahead 5-0 and held two set points - serving at 5-1, 40-15 - before the match spiralled spectacularly out of her grasp.
Valentova will face world No.9 Madison Keys in the next round.
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