Pavlyuchenkova, Kalinskaya pull off upsets in Adelaide, Draper wins easy

Qualifiers Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Anna Kalinskaya pulled off upset wins against seeded opponents in the first round of the Adelaide International on Monday.
In the opening centre court match of the warm-up event for the Australian Open – which runs from Jan 14-28 – 2021 French Open finalist Pavlyuchenkova ousted fifth seed Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-3 6-4.
“I know (she is) a great fighter and (what) if you give her a little bit of a chance to come back,” Russian Pavlyuchenkova said of her Brazilian opponent.
“So I knew I had to be 200 percent against her, and I’m happy it worked,” said Pavlyuchenkova, who fired 26 winners compared to Haddad Maia’s 13.
Kalinskaya fought for nearly three hours before outplaying fourth seed Barbora Krejcikova 7-5 3-6 7-5.
Krejcikova broke Kalinskaya in the opening game of the third set and raced to a 3-1 lead before the Russian staged a remarkable comeback, cashing in on her third match point to seal victory.
“It was a great match, (Krejcikova is) a very good fighter,” Kalinskaya said after her win. “She plays incredible tennis, she knows how to hit every shot, she made the match very complicated.”
Marta Kostyuk won her all-Ukrainian clash with Anhelina Kalinina 7-6(3) 6-1.
Lucky loser Bernarda Pera ended former world number two Paula Badosa’s return from injury by beating her 3-6 6-2 6-3.
Spaniard Pera faces compatriot and second seed Jessica Pegula in the second round.
In the men’s section, Briton Jack Draper cruised past fifth seed Sebastian Baez 6-1 6-3 in the first round.
The left-hander reeled off 17 winners and did not face a single break point in his 78-minutes romp against Baez.
“It is not easy coming out in the first match of the year,” said Draper.
“I played here last year and am looking forward to going as far as I can this week.”
Dusan Lajovic broke the hearts of the majority of the crowd with his 3-6 6-1 6-4 win against local boy Thanasis Kokkinakis.
Kokkinakis started well but grew erratic as the match progressed while Lajovic kept his cool to prevail in the contest.
Alexander Shevchenko defeated Thomas Martin Etcheverry 7-6(4) 4-6 7-5.
At the Auckland Classic, Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan outplayed a rusty Gael Monfils 6-4 6-7(6) 7-6(4).
Elsewhere, two-time champions Elise Mertens raced past Danielle Collins 6-2 6-3 at the Hobart International, another buildup event for the year’s first grand slam.