World No. 1 Ash Barty managed her first win of the 2022 season, taking down Coco Gauff 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 on Wednesday in the second round of the Adelaide International.
The 17-year-old Gauff didn’t go quietly, forcing Barty to drop serve twice in the first set and was up 4-2 in the second before the Australian rebounded to win 11 of the last 13 games.
A two-time major winner, Barty is looking to be the first Australian woman to win the Australian Open since Chris O’Neil in 1978. Barty has reached the late stages of the tournament three times, making the semifinals in 2020 and the quarterfinals in 2019 and 2021. She’ll also look to continue the momentum from what was a banner year in 2021 in which Barty won Wimbledon and was named the 2021 WTA Player of the Year.
Second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka and third-seed Maria Sakkari each fell out in the second round.
Sabalenka was upset 7-6 (6), 6-1 by world No. 100 Kaja Juvan, who earned her first win against a top-10 player and advanced to the quarterfinals.
Shelby Rogers knocked off Sakkari 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-4 and will face seventh seed Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals.