The first round of the women's 2016 Australian Open qualifying tournament was held in difficult playing conditions on Thursday. Wind was persistent throughout the day and occasional rain which saw matches start and stop. There is a mix of veterans looking to rekindle past success, players returning from injuries, and young rising stars all fighting for one of the coveted qualifying spots. The first day saw ten of the 24 seeds fall, along with dramatic comebacks taking place which saw match points being saved. 

Naomi Broady One Of Ten Seeded Upsets

Three of the leading seeds fell in the first round, including recent ASB Classic quarterfinalist Naomi Broady of Great Britain. The tall, big-serving Brit came up against the steady counter-punching of Alize Lim of France. Lim's defense and consistency troubled the British player, who struggles with movement and consistency. The Frenchwoman needed three sets to knock off the number three seed 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 with Lim surprisingly the better server in the final set thanks to her 80 percent first serve percentage.

While Broady pushed her match into a three set affair, 4th seed Sesil Karatantcheva was easily dismissed by American Jessica Pegula in two fast sets. Pegula came into the tournament not looking in great form, but has a history of recent Slam success. Pegula qualified at last year's U.S. Open and reached the second round of the main draw, showing that she produces some of her best results in the biggest tournaments. The Michael Joyce prodigy easily beat the veteran Bulgarian 6-2, 6-0.

The other surprise upset of the first round was Lin Zhu's victory over 11th seed Elena Vesnina 6-3, 4-6, 9-7. The match took place in windy conditions with neither player producing great tennis, as they struggled to find rhythm in their ground strokes. In the final set, Zhu failed to serve out the match twice. She was too passive in key moments and placed her serves conservatively, instead of going for the lines. Momentum swung back and forth with Zhu finally seizing control, winning the final 12 points of the match with two aces in the final game. With this loss, Vesnina will fail to appear in the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2005 U.S. Open.

Other seeds to fall in the opening round were (10) Pauline Parmentier, (12) Patricia Maria Tig, (13) Mari-Teresa Torro-Flor, (19) Cagla Buyukakcay, (20) Rebecca Peterson and (24) Marina Erakovic. 

Top Two Seeds Strong, Schiavone Struggles Through

While a number of the top seeds fell, others produced good performances in the difficult conditions. Top seed Qiang Wang of China, who recently reached the quarterfinal of the Shenzhen Open, defeated Misa Eguchi of Japan 7-5, 6-2. The second seed, Nicole Gibbs, advanced with a comprehensive victory over 18-year-old wild card Olivia Tjandramulia of Australia 6-2, 6-2. 

One favorite who faced difficulty was former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone, who needed three sets to take out Belgian An-Sophie Mestach 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-0. Both players struggled with the wind, with neither looking satisfied with their games as they found hitting through the court difficult in those conditions. Schiavone has contested 61 consecutive Grand Slam main draws dating back to the 2000 US Open, and few within the tennis world want to see the Italian's streak end here.

Notable Comebacks Highlight Other Action

Contesting her first match since retiring in a qualifying match at Wimbledon last year, Michelle Larcher De Brito needed time to shake off some rust to defeat Kiwi Marina Erakovic 0-6, 6-4, 7-5. The final set saw Larcher De Brito lead 5-2, but Erakovic was able to bring it back level. However, Larcher De Brito showed great fight as she has over the years, especially at Wimbledon, giving her the edge in the end to claim the impressive victory.

Another great victory for a comeback player was completed by Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez  of Spain, who saved three match points to defeat Andrea Hlavackova in three sets. Martinez Sanchez has played few singles matches over the last few years, as she took a break to have a child. She showed her class to come back and win over her inconsistent opponent. Another player to save match points was Japan's Hiroko Kuwata, who saved six match points to win the longest match of the first round 6-3, 6-7 (4), 12-10 against Silvia Soler-Espinosa. The former three-time collegiate champion in Japan was the more inexperienced player in the match, and held her nerve serving from behind in the final set. 

Second Round Matches to Watch 

The all-veteran affair between Francesca Schiavone and Virginie Razzano is a mouth-watering encounter, which could easily have been a second week slam match-up just a few years ago. Second seed Nicole Gibbs will face a stern test from 19-year-old Croat Jana Fett, who reached the junior final at the Australian Open two years ago. Two big servers face off as Alexandra Panova takes on rising star Naomi Osaka of Japan, who seems on the verge of a major breakthrough. In-form Jana Cepelova takes on American Sachia Vickery in a match which should feature long rallies and intelligent play. Tamira Paszek will look to continue her recent success up against comebacker Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez as action resumes Friday in Melbourne.