MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) The opening match on Margaret Court Arena could possibly be the fastest – and most lopsided – all day: U.S. Open finalist Karolina Pliskova’s 6-0, 6-2 win over Anna Blinkova in 59 minutes.
Pliskova, who lost to Angelique Kerber in the U.S. Open final last September, overwhelmed the 18-year-old Blinkova, a Russian qualifier ranked 189th who had beaten veteran Monica Niculescu in the first round.
When Blinkova won her first game -after Pliskova had won 10 in a row – she smiled and raised her left arm to acknowledge the cheers from the crowd.
The fifth-seeded Pliskova advanced to the third round for the third consecutive year.