Brady loses first match since Australian Open final
Jennifer Brady lost her first match since the Australian Open final, falling to Anett Kontaveit 6-1, 6-2 in the first round of the Qatar Open on Monday.
Brady, who lost to Naomi Osaka in her first major final just over a week ago, made 25 unforced errors against her Estonian opponent. Kontaveit had only nine unforced errors and didn’t face a single break point against the seventh-seeded American.
“I was expecting a very, very tough match but I’m very happy with the way I played and very pleased to get to the second round,” Kontaveit said.
Kontaveit will play three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber in the second round after the German beat wild card Cagla Buyukakcay of Turkey 6-4, 6-2.
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Garbine Muguruza beat Veronika Kudermetova 6-2, 7-6 (4) to book a second-round match with last year’s Doha winner, Aryna Sabalenka, who had a first-round bye. “Good match ahead,” Muguruza said. “I’m excited to face these top players. I feel like every match is hard.”
Eighth-seeded Victoria Azarenka needed six match points to win against Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 6-3 in a first-round match between former Grand Slam champions. Azarenka will play Elena Rybakina or Laura Siegemund in the second round.