22nd-Seeded Jelena Ostapenko Loses in the First Round at the Australian Open
MELBOURNE, Australia — Former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko has been beaten 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 by Maria Sakkari in the first round at Melbourne Park.
The 22nd-seeded Ostapenko, who also advanced to the semifinals at Wimbledon last year, had beaten Sakkari in three sets in their only previous meeting at Charleston in 2017.
It's been a poor start to the season for Ostapenko. She lost in the first round to eventual finalist Ashleigh Barty at the Sydney International after also losing in the first round at Shenzhen.
Sakkari had an early service break in the deciding set, then broke again to take a 4-1 lead at Melbourne Arena, the tournament's third show court. The Greek player used two aces to clinch the next game and take a 5-1 lead, then served out to love two games later to win the match.
