2019 Australian Open – Day 1 Women’s Match Notes and Preview
January 14, 2019

POLONA HERCOG (SLO #92) vs. [2] ANGELIQUE KERBER (GER #2)
Kerber leads 4-2
Kerber is 8-3 in first round action at Melbourne Park, with last loss at this stage coming in 2015…Hercog
owns a 1-20 career record vs. Top 10 opponents, with sole win coming over No.7 Bartoli at 2012 Charleston
Head to Head: ANGELIQUE KERBER leads 4-2
POLONA HERCOG
92 |
WTA RANKING |
ANGELIQUE KERBER
2 |
|
– | PORSCHE RACE TO SHENZHEN LEADERBOARD | 36 | |
20-01-1991 (27) | DATE OF BIRTH (AGE) | 18-01-1988 (30) | |
$2,525 | YTD PRIZE MONEY | $21,660 | |
$2,848,359 | CAREER PRIZE MONEY | $27,178,501 | |
0 / 2 | SINGLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) | 0 / 12 | |
0 / 2 | DOUBLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) | 0 / 0 | |
2-8 | AUSTRALIAN OPEN W-L (MD) * | 26-10 | |
0-1 / 135-171 | YTD / CAREER W-L (MD) * | 1-1 / 400-226 | |
0-0 / 38-56 | YTD / CAREER 3-SET W-L (MD) * | 0-0 / 112-88 | |
0-0 / 26-40 | YTD / CAREER TIE-BREAK W-L (MD) * | 1-0 / 79-53 | |
0-1 / 49-96 | YTD / CAREER HARD W-L (MD) * | 1-1 / 261-146 | |
0-0 / 1-20 | YTD / CAREER TOP 10 W-L (MD) * | 0-1 / 37-60 | |
0-0 / 7-37 | YTD / CAREER TOP 20 W-L (MD) * | 0-1 / 86-112 | |
0-0 / 12-20 | YTD / CAREER Left Hander W-L (MD) * | 0-1 / 32-20 | |
* Updated entering 2019 Australian Open 1r |
ALISON VAN UYTVANCK (BEL #52) vs. [3] CAROLINE WOZNIACKI (DEN #3)
Wozniacki leads 1-0
Wozniacki is making her 12th consecutive main draw appearance at the Australian Open, and returning
to Melbourne Park in 2019 as defending champion…Van Uytvanck is bidding to defeat a defending Grand
Slam champion for the second time in career, after ousting Muguruza at 2018 Wimbledon
ALISON VAN UYTVANCK (BEL #52) vs. [3] CAROLINE WOZNIACKI (DEN #3)
Head to Head: CAROLINE WOZNIACKI leads 1-0
2018
ROME
CLAY O R2 CAROLINE WOZNIACKI
6-1 6-4
96 mins
ALISON VAN UYTVANCK
52 |
WTA RANKING |
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI
3 |
|
128 | PORSCHE RACE TO SHENZHEN LEADERBOARD | 131 | |
26-03-1994 (24) | DATE OF BIRTH (AGE) | 11-07-1990 (28) | |
$5,325 | YTD PRIZE MONEY | $3,310 | |
$2,111,229 | CAREER PRIZE MONEY | $33,495,723 | |
0 / 2 | SINGLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) | 0 / 30 | |
0 / 1 | DOUBLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) | 0 / 2 | |
0-4 | AUSTRALIAN OPEN W-L (MD) * | 32-10 | |
1-2 / 68-88 | YTD / CAREER W-L (MD) * | 1-1 / 574-240 | |
0-0 / 24-28 | YTD / CAREER 3-SET W-L (MD) * | 0-0 / 148-79 | |
1-0 / 20-32 | YTD / CAREER TIE-BREAK W-L (MD) * | 0-0 / 89-79 | |
1-2 / 37-51 | YTD / CAREER HARD W-L (MD) * | 1-1 / 413-163 | |
0-0 / 1-6 | YTD / CAREER TOP 10 W-L (MD) * | 0-0 / 61-67 | |
0-0 / 2-18 | YTD / CAREER TOP 20 W-L (MD) * | 0-0 / 132-106 | |
0-0 / 3-7 | YTD / CAREER Left Hander W-L (MD) * | 0-0 / 58-28 | |
* Updated entering 2019 Australian Open 1r |
[5] SLOANE STEPHENS (USA #5) vs. TAYLOR TOWNSEND (USA #93)
First career meeting
Stephens has lost her last three first round matches at Melbourne Park (2015-16, 2018), while Townsend
has yet to win a main draw match here. One of four all-country matchups in first round
[5] SLOANE STEPHENS (USA #5) vs. TAYLOR TOWNSEND (USA #93)
Head to Head: First meeting
SLOANE STEPHENS
5 |
WTA RANKING |
TAYLOR TOWNSEND
93 |
|
80 | PORSCHE RACE TO SHENZHEN LEADERBOARD | – | |
20-03-1993 (25) | DATE OF BIRTH (AGE) | 16-04-1996 (22) | |
$20,345 | YTD PRIZE MONEY | $5,125 | |
$13,396,548 | CAREER PRIZE MONEY | $1,413,884 | |
0 / 6 | SINGLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) | 0 / 0 | |
0 / 0 | DOUBLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) | 0 / 0 | |
9-6 | AUSTRALIAN OPEN W-L (MD) * | 0-2 | |
1-2 / 197-133 | YTD / CAREER W-L (MD) * | 0-1 / 19-32 | |
1-1 / 64-45 | YTD / CAREER 3-SET W-L (MD) * | 0-1 / 10-8 | |
2-1 / 50-28 | YTD / CAREER TIE-BREAK W-L (MD) * | 1-0 / 6-3 | |
1-2 / 130-88 | YTD / CAREER HARD W-L (MD) * | 0-1 / 12-22 | |
0-0 / 17-33 | YTD / CAREER TOP 10 W-L (MD) * | 0-0 / 0-7 | |
0-0 / 35-54 | YTD / CAREER TOP 20 W-L (MD) * | 0-0 / 0-11 | |
0-0 / 16-5 | YTD / CAREER Left Hander W-L (MD) * | 0-0 / 0-0 | |
* Updated entering 2019 Australian Open 1r |
[8] PETRA KVITOVA (CZE #6) vs. MAGDALENA RYBARIKOVA (SVK #51)
Kvitova leads 6-1
Kvitova’s first round exit here in 2018 was her first opening match loss at a Slam in four years – overall she
owns a 32-9 record in Grand Slam first round matches…Rybarikova owns nine career Top 10 wins, most recently against No.7 Ka.Pliskova at 2018 Birmingham
PETRA KVITOVA 6 |
WTA RANKING |
MAGDALENA RYBARIKOVA 51 |
|||
1 | PORSCHE RACE TO SHENZHEN LEADERBOARD | – | |||
08-03-1990 (28) | DATE OF BIRTH (AGE) | 04-10-1988 (30) | |||
$154,580 | YTD PRIZE MONEY | $6,940 | |||
$27,496,787 | CAREER PRIZE MONEY | $4,944,414 | |||
1 / 26 | SINGLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) | 0 / 4 | |||
0 / 0 | DOUBLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) | 0 / 2 | |||
14-9 | AUSTRALIAN OPEN W-L (MD) * | 6-9 | |||
6-1 / 404-190 | YTD / CAREER W-L (MD) * | 0-1 / 185-206 | |||
2-0 / 122-77 | YTD / CAREER 3-SET W-L (MD) * | 0-0 / 70-56 | |||
3-2 / 81-59 | YTD / CAREER TIE-BREAK W-L (MD) * | 0-0 / 40-53 | |||
6-1 / 269-132 | YTD / CAREER HARD W-L (MD) * | 0-1 / 121-130 | |||
1-0 / 45-14 | YTD / CAREER Left Hander W-L (MD) * | 0-0 / 16-14 | |||
1-0 / 25-30 | YTD / CAREER TOP 5 W-L (MD & Q) * | 0-0 / 2-17 | |||
1-0 / 53-50 | YTD / CAREER TOP 10 W-L (MD & Q) * | 0-0 / 9-27 | |||
3-1 / 102-85 | YTD / CAREER TOP 20 W-L (MD & Q) * | 0-0 / 23-65 | |||
* Updated entering 2019 Australian Open 1r |
ALISON RISKE (USA #56) vs. [9] KIKI BERTENS (NED #9)
Bertens leads 2-0
Bertens is coming in hot off the heels of her semifinal finish in Sydney – marked first semifinal on Australian
soil…Riske is fresh off reaching the final in Shenzhen and is seeking her first victory over the Dutchwoman and her 70th career hardcourt victory
ALISON RISKE
56 |
WTA RANKING |
KIKI BERTENS
9 |
|
21 | PORSCHE RACE TO SHENZHEN LEADERBOARD | 11 | |
03-07-1990 (28) | DATE OF BIRTH (AGE) | 10-12-1991 (27) | |
$81,251 | YTD PRIZE MONEY | $54,977 | |
$3,172,601 | CAREER PRIZE MONEY | $6,577,101 | |
0 / 1 | SINGLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) | 0 / 7 | |
0 / 0 | DOUBLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) | 0 / 10 | |
4-7 | AUSTRALIAN OPEN W-L (MD) * | 3-6 | |
4-1 / 120-130 | YTD / CAREER W-L (MD) * | 3-2 / 157-135 | |
1-1 / 39-54 | YTD / CAREER 3-SET W-L (MD) * | 1-2 / 43-49 | |
0-1 / 30-42 | YTD / CAREER TIE-BREAK W-L (MD) * | 1-2 / 34-40 | |
4-1 / 69-77 | YTD / CAREER HARD W-L (MD) * | 3-2 / 67-86 | |
0-0 / 5-23 | YTD / CAREER TOP 10 W-L (MD) * | 0-0 / 15-20 | |
0-1 / 13-44 | YTD / CAREER TOP 20 W-L (MD) * | 1-1 / 24-37 | |
0-0 / 10-8 | YTD / CAREER Left Hander W-L (MD) * | 0-0 / 16-9 | |
* Updated entering 2019 Australian Open 1r |
[Q] ANNA KALINSKAYA (RUS #146) vs. [11] ARYNA SABALENKA (BLR #11)
Series tied 1-1
Sabalenka is enjoying her third – and highest – seeding at a Slam, at No.11. By contrast, 12 months ago she sat at No.69 in the rankings…Kalinskaya has come through qualifying again in 2019 to reach the main draw – did not drop a set, defeating Lemoine, Diatchenko and Lottner
ANNA KALINSKAYA
146 |
WTA RANKING |
ARYNA SABALENKA
11 |
|
90 | PORSCHE RACE TO SHENZHEN LEADERBOARD | 8 | |
02-12-1998 (20) | DATE OF BIRTH (AGE) | 05-05-1998 (20) | |
$3,919 | YTD PRIZE MONEY | $169,605 | |
$345,928 | CAREER PRIZE MONEY | $2,318,544 | |
0 / 0 | SINGLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) | 1 / 3 | |
0 / 0 | DOUBLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) | 0 / 0 | |
0-1 | AUSTRALIAN OPEN W-L (MD) * | 0-1 | |
0-0 / 3-16 | YTD / CAREER W-L (MD) * | 5-1 / 63-31 | |
0-0 / 1-4 | YTD / CAREER 3-SET W-L (MD) * | 2-0 / 26-12 | |
0-0 / 1-2 | YTD / CAREER TIE-BREAK W-L (MD) * | 1-0 / 16-11 | |
0-0 / 1-8 | YTD / CAREER HARD W-L (MD) * | 5-1 / 51-21 | |
0-0 / 0-1 | YTD / CAREER TOP 10 W-L (MD) * | 0-1 / 8-6 | |
0-0 / 0-3 | YTD / CAREER TOP 20 W-L (MD) * | 0-1 / 16-11 | |
0-0 / 0-1 | YTD / CAREER Left Hander W-L (MD) * | 0-1 / 6-5 | |
* Updated entering 2019 Australian Open 1r |
[14] JULIA GOERGES (GER #13) vs. DANIELLE COLLINS (USA #35)
First career meeting
Goerges owns a 10-1 record in first round matches at Melbourne Park, with her sole loss coming against
Ivanovic in 2009…Collins is making her Australian Open debut and enters the tournament ranked No.36, one place off career-high set on August 6, 2018 following San Jose QF run
JULIA GOERGES 13 |
WTA RANKING |
DANIELLE COLLINS 35 |
||
9 | PORSCHE RACE TO SHENZHEN LEADERBOARD | 169 | ||
02-11-1988 (30) | DATE OF BIRTH (AGE) | 13-12-1993 (25) | ||
$43,910 | YTD PRIZE MONEY | $13,285 | ||
$8,672,406 | CAREER PRIZE MONEY | $997,636 | ||
1 / 7 | SINGLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) | 0 / 0 | ||
0 / 5 | DOUBLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) | 0 / 0 | ||
16-10 | AUSTRALIAN OPEN W-L (MD) * | 0-0 | ||
5-0 / 288-232 | YTD / CAREER W-L (MD) * | 0-2 / 17-22 | ||
2-0 / 88-83 | YTD / CAREER 3-SET W-L (MD) * | 0-1 / 9-6 | ||
2-0 / 65-72 | YTD / CAREER TIE-BREAK W-L (MD) * | 1-2 / 4-5 | ||
5-0 / 172-141 | YTD / CAREER HARD W-L (MD) * | 0-2 / 13-15 | ||
0-0 / 16-26 | YTD / CAREER Left Hander W-L (MD) * | 0-1 / 1-2 | ||
0-0 / 8-17 | YTD / CAREER TOP 5 W-L (MD & Q) * | 0-0 / 0-3 | ||
0-0 / 16-36 | YTD / CAREER TOP 10 W-L (MD & Q) * | 0-1 / 1-5 | ||
0-0 / 34-75 | YTD / CAREER TOP 20 W-L (MD & Q) * | 0-1 / 3-9 | ||
* Updated entering 2019 Australian Open 1r |
[15] ASHLEIGH BARTY (AUS #15) vs. LUKSIKA KUMKHUM (THA #67)
Series tied 1-1
Barty owns an 8-9 record in Grand Slam first round matches – last loss to a player outside the Top 50 was
against No.63 Azarenka at 2018 Tokyo…Kumkhum advanced to the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time as a qualifier here last year
ASHLEIGH BARTY
15 |
WTA RANKING |
LUKSIKA KUMKHUM
67 |
|
5 | PORSCHE RACE TO SHENZHEN LEADERBOARD | 16 | |
24-04-1996 (22) | DATE OF BIRTH (AGE) | 21-07-1993 (25) | |
$75,570 | YTD PRIZE MONEY | $4,698 | |
$5,283,650 | CAREER PRIZE MONEY | $954,716 | |
0 / 3 | SINGLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) | 0 / 0 | |
0 / 9 | DOUBLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) | 0 / 0 | |
4-5 | AUSTRALIAN OPEN W-L (MD) * | 4-5 | |
4-1 / 88-50 | YTD / CAREER W-L (MD) * | 0-1 / 21-32 | |
1-1 / 25-14 | YTD / CAREER 3-SET W-L (MD) * | 0-0 / 8-10 | |
0-2 / 13-12 | YTD / CAREER TIE-BREAK W-L (MD) * | 0-0 / 7-4 | |
4-1 / 57-31 | YTD / CAREER HARD W-L (MD) * | 0-1 / 20-27 | |
2-1 / 7-15 | YTD / CAREER TOP 10 W-L (MD) * | 0-0 / 1-2 | |
3-1 / 17-29 | YTD / CAREER TOP 20 W-L (MD) * | 0-0 / 2-9 | |
0-1 / 9-5 | YTD / CAREER Left Hander W-L (MD) * | 0-0 / 2-1 | |
* Updated entering 2019 Australian Open 1r |
MARIA SAKKARI (GRE #43) vs. [22] JELENA OSTAPENKO (LAT #22)
Ostapenko leads 1-0
Ostapenko’s best finish here were back-to-back third rounds in 2017 (l.Ka.Pliskova) and 2018
(l.Kontaveit)…Sakkari is up to No.43 to start the tournament, after being ranked No.55 at this stage last season
MARIA SAKKARI
43 |
WTA RANKING |
JELENA OSTAPENKO
22 |
|
– | PORSCHE RACE TO SHENZHEN LEADERBOARD | – | |
25-07-1995 (23) | DATE OF BIRTH (AGE) | 08-06-1997 (21) | |
$2,100 | YTD PRIZE MONEY | $13,844 | |
$1,697,961 | CAREER PRIZE MONEY | $7,548,328 | |
0 / 0 | SINGLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) | 0 / 2 | |
0 / 0 | DOUBLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) | 0 / 3 | |
3-3 | AUSTRALIAN OPEN W-L (MD) * | 4-3 | |
0-1 / 43-54 | YTD / CAREER W-L (MD) * | 0-2 / 92-73 | |
0-1 / 12-21 | YTD / CAREER 3-SET W-L (MD) * | 0-0 / 32-25 | |
0-0 / 13-8 | YTD / CAREER TIE-BREAK W-L (MD) * | 0-0 / 27-13 | |
0-1 / 26-35 | YTD / CAREER HARD W-L (MD) * | 0-2 / 50-51 | |
0-0 / 2-4 | YTD / CAREER TOP 10 W-L (MD) * | 0-0 / 8-11 | |
0-0 / 6-14 | YTD / CAREER TOP 20 W-L (MD) * | 0-1 / 12-21 | |
0-0 / 2-4 | YTD / CAREER Left Hander W-L (MD) * | 0-0 / 8-10 | |
* Updated entering 2019 Australian Open 1r |
[30] MARIA SHARAPOVA (RUS #30) vs. [Q] HARRIET DART (GBR #131)
First career meeting
Sharapova’s record in Grand Slam first round matches stands at 50-4 (.926) – among active players with
10 or more majors to their name, only S.Williams has a better winning percentage (.986)…Dart is contesting Australian Open at a career-high ranking of No.131; this time last year, she was ranked No.309; just her second-career Grand Slam main draw
MARIA SHARAPOVA
30 |
WTA RANKING |
HARRIET DART
131 |
|||
64 | PORSCHE RACE TO SHENZHEN LEADERBOARD | 49 | |||
19-04-1987 (31) | DATE OF BIRTH (AGE) | 28-07-1996 (22) | |||
$13,121 | YTD PRIZE MONEY | $12,705 | |||
$38,355,240 | CAREER PRIZE MONEY | $264,354 | |||
0 / 36 | SINGLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) | 0 / 0 | |||
0 / 3 | DOUBLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) | 0 / 0 | |||
54-13 | AUSTRALIAN OPEN W-L (MD) * | 0-0 | |||
2-1 / 598-158 | YTD / CAREER W-L (MD) * | 1-1 / 2-7 | |||
0-0 / 162-59 | YTD / CAREER 3-SET W-L (MD) * | 1-0 / 2-1 | |||
1-1 / 74-63 | YTD / CAREER TIE-BREAK W-L (MD) * | 0-0 / 0-1 | |||
2-1 / 358-101 | YTD / CAREER HARD W-L (MD) * | 1-1 / 1-4 | |||
0-0 / 97-66 | YTD / CAREER TOP 10 W-L (MD) * | 0-0 / 0-1 | |||
0-1 / 171-100 | YTD / CAREER TOP 20 W-L (MD) * | 0-1 / 0-2 | |||
0-0 / 54-15 | YTD / CAREER Left Hander W-L (MD) * | 0-0 / 1-0 | |||
* Updated entering 2019 Australian Open 1r | |||||
AUSTRALIAN OPEN Tournament Performance – 2019 * Qualifying match | |||||
*R3 | W – IVANA JOROVIC (SRB #117) | 1-6,6-3,6-1 | 120 mins | ||
*R2 | W – SHILIN XU (CHN #217) | 7-6(4),6-1 | 81 mins | ||
*R1 | W – CHLOE PAQUET (FRA #224) | 6-3,4-6,6-2 | 116 mins |
****Statistics provided by the WTA Tour