Maya Joint, the top-ranked local in the Australian Open women’s singles draw, crashed out in the first round on Tuesday after losing in straight sets to Czech teenager Tereza Valentová.
Valentová made the most of an inconsistent display from the 30th seed, winning 6-4, 6-4 in 92 minutes.
Joint, at 19 only one year older than her opponent, struggled with unforced errors and with her serve, leaving a near-full John Cain Arena shocked and disappointed in the first match of the day.
The Australian was the first woman seeded at Melbourne Park since Ash Barty in 2022, but was broken five times by her dangerous opponent, who enjoyed a breakout year on the WTA Tour last year.
Joint was visibly frustrated in the second set following a succession of errors, and appeared to struggle with the ball floating long as conditions quickened with the rising temperature.
The 54th-ranked Valentová was also inconsistent with her serve, and was broken three times herself, but edged a match in which she had both more winners and unforced errors than Joint.
More to follow.
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