Sonay Kartal beaten by Anna Kalinskaya in Australian Open first round

“My base level was just not really finding the court in that second set. Maybe she did raise her level, but I think ultimately my level dipped to a level which hasn’t been that low for years.”

British singles competitors made a strong start here on day one on Sunday, with wins for Emma Raducanu, Cameron Norrie and Arthur Fery, but there has not been another success since after defeats for Kartal, Francesca Jones and Jacob Fearnley. Katie Boulter, the final Briton in first-round action, lost to the No10 seed Belinda Bencic in straight sets, 6-0, 7-5.

It is no particular surprise that Kartal lost, given that she has a world ranking of No66 and was playing the No31 seed. Kalinskaya, 27, is a former Australian Open quarter-finalist, in 2024, and has more experience on the WTA Tour.

Nonetheless, Kartal will be disappointed at the speed in which the match raced away from her towards the end. She played well in the early stages, pushing Kalinskaya hard from the baseline with depth and angles, and was only two points from taking the set at 5-4 on the Kalinskaya serve.

A hold here was pivotal for Kalinskaya, as was her comeback from a mini-break down in the tie-break. Taking a gruelling 62-minute opening set allowed her to settle in the second set and she dominated proceedings with her powerful ball striking for the remainder of the match.

Kartal has the Middle East swing to bounce back next month and has not ruled out a return to Australia in April for Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup qualifier despite it being a challenging trip before the European clay-court season.

“I’d love to be in the world’s top 50 again,” Kartal said. “I don’t think that’s too far away from where I’m currently sitting as well. If I have a good few weeks in the Middle East, that is definitely doable. And the goal for me this year would be the top 30.

“It was definitely a bit of a surprise seeing the Billie Jean King Cup draw last night. But those weeks for me are some of the highlights of my year. I look at Shenzhen [the finals last September], for example. I was in a bit of a rough spot with my tennis, went out there and it almost turned everything around for me. Never say never.”

Elsewhere at Melbourne Park, Madison Keys made a successful start to the defence of her title with a 7-6 (8-6), 6-1 win against Oleksandra Oliynykova. Elena Rybakina also eased through 6-4, 6-3 against Kaja Juvan in an afternoon session with no notable shocks.

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