Gavrilova progresses in St Petersburg
Fresh off her fourth-round run at the Australian Open, Daria Gavrilova began with a win at her next tournament at the St Petersburg Ladies Open.
St Petersburg, Russia, 31 January 2017 | AP
Daria Gavrilova has reached the second round of the St Petersburg Ladies Trophy on Monday by beating Russian wild-card entry Anna Kalinskaya 6-4 7-5.
In her first match since reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open, Gavrilova had problems holding serve against the 18-year-old Kalinskaya and was a break down in the second set.
The Australian will next face third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Kuznetsova beat Gavrilova in Moscow’s Kremlin Cup final in October last year – Gavrilova’s first appearance in a WTA final.
Meanwhile, at the concurrent WTA event in Taiwan, Sam Stosur has accepted a wildcard entry and will face Danka Kovinic in round one.
Stosur, the second seed, owns a 2-0 head-to-head record against Kovinic, from Montenegro.