Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
It is barely three weeks since Mirra Andreeva faced Maja Chwalinska in the final of the French Open and both players will have hoped to carry that form across the English Channel.
For Andreeva, the victor in Paris, it was the perfect start, a useful workout against Magda Linette which she won 7-5 6-4.
But for Chwalinska, Wimbledon is over already and in the worst of ways.
The Polish 24-year-old who began her French Open run as a qualifier, was a point from victory when she injured her ankle.
Leading Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-2 5-2, 30-40 she lost her footing on the baseline.
She got up but grimaced in pain when she tried to run.
Chwalinska had the ankle strapped, but her movement was seriously hindered as she lost 2-6 7-5 6-2.
“I’m very disappointed,” said Chwalinska, who was seeded 20 with a wildcard.
“I was one point from winning a match, but I’ll get through it. I didn’t want to retire in Wimbledon.”
It was a rare upset in the women’s singles as the nine players seeded higher than Chwalinska all won on Monday.
Top seed Aryna Sabalenka, who is yet to reach the final, began with a routine 6-2 6-3 defeat of Serbian qualifier Teodora Kostovic.
“I’m super excited to be back,” said Sabalenka, who despaired after her Paris exit when she lost the last 10 games of her quarter-final against Diana Shnaider.
“For the first match I feel pretty good, maybe eight out of 10.”
Four-time grand slam champion Naomi Osaka caught the eye before and during a straight-sets victory over France’s Elsa Jacquemot.
The 14th seed entered court in an all-white kimono-style ceremonial dress decorated with embroidered cranes and cherry blossoms ahead of a 6-1 7-5 victory.
World No.4 Jessica Pegula avoided a repeat of last year’s first-round exit by beating Darja Vidmanova 7-5 6-3.
“I definitely wanted to redeem myself a bit,” said the American.
“(A) little extra nerves or pressure today, as well, just with that in mind but then also motivation at the same time.”
Coco Gauff, the seventh seed, cruised past Germany’s Tamara Korpatsch 6-2 6-1. The two-time major winner has never been beyond the fourth round at the All England Club.
There were also wins for Karolina Muchova (10th seed), Belinda Bencic (11), Iva Jovic (16), Ekaterina Alexandrova (18) and Anna Kalinskaya (19).
But 22nd seed Layla Fernandez lost to Indonesia’s Janice Tjen and fellow Canadian Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 US Open champion, to 37-year-old Chinese Zhang Shua.
With PA
