World number one Ash Barty won her first WTA Tour match in almost a year at the Yarra Valley Classic, while Naomi Osaka got her Gippsland Trophy campaign going with a victory. (More Sports News)
Barty sat out the vast majority of the 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic but marked her comeback with a 6-3 6-3 success over Ana Bogdan at Melbourne Park.
The Australian will face Marie Bouzkova next after the Czech defeated Aliona Bolsova on Tuesday.
Garbine Muguruza raced past Alison Van Uytvanck 6-2 6-0 and she was joined in the third round by Petra Kvitova, who battled to beat Venus Williams 7-6 (8-6) 7-5.
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Reigning Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, who was 7-5 up when Camila Giorgi retired from their match, is also through.
In her first match since winning the US Open in September, Osaka cruised to a 6-2 6-2 success against Alize Cornet and will meet Katie Boulter after the Briton came from a set down to beat Coco Gauff 3-6 7-5 6-2.
Iga Swiatek was also making her first appearance since winning a major title – the French Open last October – and after a slow start won 11 of the final 12 games to beat Kaja Juvan 2-6 6-2 6-1.
Aryna Sabalenka ended 2020 with back-to-back titles in Ostrava and Linz, before kicking off the new year with another trophy in Abu Dhabi. However, her run of 15 straight victories ended with a 1-6 6-2 1-6 loss to Kaia Kanepi.
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Bianca Andreescu was due to gear up for the Australian Open by contesting the Grampians Trophy this week but withdrew from the competition to focus on training instead.
