414th ranked Jaimee Fourlis won her maiden Grand Slam match, defeating Anna Tatishvili 6-4, 6-3 in the first round of the Australian Open.
Fourlis jumps out to early lead, hangs on to win first set
The first game would be indicative of how the set would go as it lasted 12 points, Fourlis saving a break point. A marathon 20 point game saw the Aussie break, a magnificent forehand winner giving her a 2-0 lead and she would break a second time for a 4-0 advantage, Tatishvili falling behind so fast, she barely had time to comprehend the events that just occurred.
After a hold put the 17-year old on the brink of a love set, Tatishvili would fight off two set points to hold and save a third to break, Fourlis now leading 5-2. The nerves would show as the teenager was broken again in the ninth game and suddenly the set was back on serve, but Fourlis, on fifth set point, finally put it to bed.
Fourlis gains second round berth with two breaks to take second set
Tatishvili snatched the momentum to begin the second set, opening with a break. After erasing a break point in her next service game, her lead was gone, Fourlis breaking back to level the set at 2-2. The 17-year old saved two break points of her own in the next game, setting the stage for what was to come.
The match was put to rest when Fourlis broke to take a 4-2 lead, a failed drop shot all but clinching the match for the Aussie. Neither player was serving particularly well, but the teenager closed strong, holding to 30 for a 5-2 lead and closing out the match with a love hold to set up a meeting with eighth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second set.