The locals at the Australian Open are off to a tough start, with Kimberly Birrell losing in straight sets to Canadian qualifier Rebecca Marino.
Birrell was one of the Australians handed a wildcard into the Melbourne Park main draw and got a favourable draw with a first-round match-up against an unheralded player, but Marino won through 6-0, 7-6(11/9).
It looked like it would be a quick match out on court seven, as Marino tore through the first set in 23 minutes, but Birrell got back into the game, thanks mostly to Marino’s 42 unforced errors, which accounted for more than 70 per cent of the points won by Birrell.
Facing a woman ranked more than 400 spots ahead of her, the Gold Coast resident pushed Marino to a tiebreak at 6-6 in the second, after a service game that featured six deuces.
They went point for point in the breaker as well, until she finally succumbed on the 20th point.
Birrell simply lacked the power to threaten, serving no aces and managing just one winner to Marino’s 10 and 25, respectively.
But the Canadian world number 316 will want to shore up her game ahead of a likely clash with 19th seed Marketa Vondrousova in the next round.
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