The Australian Window: Big day for Lehecka and Svrcina, both moving on! They will be joined by Krejcikova, Kvitova and Muchova

The main stage of the Australian Open started tonight and there were nine Czech representatives in action. Dalibor Svrcina and Jiri Lehecka were a huge success, advancing as outsiders without losing a single set. Petra Kvitová, Barbora Krejčíková and Karolína Muchová also celebrated their progress.

Siniakova took a beating

Katerina Siniakova got a very tough draw in the opening round. She had to face the favourite from the United States, world No. 7 Coco Gauff (7th).

But Siniakova had good memories of her from their last match. She had beaten her convincingly in two sets at the Billie Jean King Cup last November.

However, Gauff, the winner of the tournament in Adelaide, confirmed her role as the favourite from the beginning of the match.

She worked her way to two break points in the first set and converted both with ease. Moreover, the American did not make any mistakes on her own serve – 1-6.

The second set was much better from Siniakova’s point of view. Thanks to a converted break in the sixth game, she was already leading 4-2. But then she faltered and her opponent turned the second set around. The Czech player fended off six match points, but she couldn’t manage the seventh one – 4-6.

Kateřina Siniaková (48th) – Coco Gauffová (7th, USA) 1-6, 4-6

Bouzkova also says goodbye

The first round was also fatal for Maria Bouzkova (26th). In her match against Bianca Andreescu (43rd), she did not pick up a single serve from her opponent and after one hour and 41 minutes she bid farewell to the tournament.

The Canadian took advantage of her first break point opportunity in the third game. Then Bouzkova got a break point in the seventh game, but she didn’t take advantage of it and her opponent punished this hesitation in the next game, which meant the victory in the first set – 2-6.

The second set was a bit more evenly matched, just like Siniakova’s match. It was decided only at the end of the set. Bouzkova had several great chances to win her opponent’s serve. However, all the chances were missed and Andreescu definitely dominated the game in the tenth game – 4-6.

Bianca Andreescu (42nd, Canada)- Marie Bouzkova (26th) 6-2, 6-4

Kvitova secures advancement

Petra Kvitova (15th), the Czech number one, had a slightly more relaxed match. She confirmed her role as the favourite in her match with Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck (70th).

In the first set, both players kept their serve honest. The winner of the first set had to be decided in a tiebreak. It proved to be a big advantage for the more experienced Kvitova, who clearly outplayed the Belgian and won the important first set – 7-6(3).

Kvitova picked up the momentum with her first set win and it showed. She took her opponent’s serve in the first game, then held her own and in the third game another break came which meant that Van Uytvanck could not threaten her way to victory – 6-2.

Alison Van Uytvanck (70th, Belgium) – Petra Kvitova (16th) 6-7(3), 2-6

Easy job for Karolina Muchova

Karolína Muchová (133rd) probably had the easiest match of all the Czech representatives. She played her match against Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko (134th), who is just one place below the Czech player in the rankings.

The experienced Tsurenkova did not put up much resistance. Muchová confirmed that she is still one of the players to be reckoned with. The first set was marked by break points. The Ukrainian lost four of her serves and that was decisive. Muchova allowed her just two games and won 6-2.

In the second set, Muchova was much calmer on her serve. Tsurenkova had big problems with her own serve and the Czech player was able to take advantage of the mistakes. Moreover, the Ukrainian was suffering from nausea and it also affected her performance.

Karloina Muchova deservedly advanced to the second round after winning 6-1 in the second set.

Lesia Tsurenkova (134th, Ukraine) – Karolina Muchova (133rd) 2-6, 1-6

Brenda Fruhvirt will not be in the next round

Only 15-year-old Brenda Fruhvirt (136), a qualifier and the youngest player in the starting field, had to mourn after her match. The big favourite, Belarusian Aljaksandra Sasnovich (38th), was waiting for her in the first round.

The younger of the Fruhvirt sisters got off to a great start when she took the Belarusian’s serve in the opening game of the match. But then she paid the price for poor numbers on her own serve, which accompanied her in qualifying.

But the tie had to be decided in the eleventh game, where the Czech hope had three break points at 7-5. But she failed to capitalise on any of them and subsequently lost her serve – 5-7.

Sasnovic was already in control of the second set. She didn’t make a single mistake on her own serve and twice took away Fruhvirt’s serve – 2-6.

Brenda will be able to cheer on her older sister Linda tomorrow night, who will face Jaimee Fourlis.

Brenda Fruhvirt (135th) – Alyaksandra Sasnovich (38th,Belarus) 5-7, 2-6

Czech duel for Krejcikova

Babora Krejcikova (23rd) was the last player to advance to the second round. She was pitted against her 16-year-old compatriot Sara Bejlek (175th). The Czech duel turned out better for the much more experienced Krejcikova, who took the match in two sets.

Krejcikova got her first break point in the seventh game and confirmed her dominance on court with a winning break in the ninth game – 6-3.

Bejlek tried to keep pace with the French Open winner, but her serve betrayed her as she offered too many unforced errors and Krejcikova made the most of such opportunities in the second set – 6-1.

Barbora Krejcikova (21st) – Sara Bejlek (175th) 6-3, 6-1

Flawless performances by Lehecka and Svrcina

Finally, two very unexpected results. Two of the three male representatives in the first round advanced without dropping a set. Both Dalibor Svrcina (216th) and Jiri Lehecka (71st) showed truly heroic performances.

Twenty-one-year-old Lehečka had a very tough opponent. It was Croatian Borna Coric, who managed to return in style to the 23rd place in the rankings after a break and was named comeback player of the year.

Čorić was a clear favourite for this match but the in-form Lehečka was not to be intimidated by paper expectations. The first game brought a great fight and Lehecka was close to losing his serve. But the Croatian failed to do so and in the following game Lehecka took a 2-0 lead.

The Croatian tennis player was not very confident with his serve and gave Lehecka’s serve away once more in the first set. Already at 5-3, Lehecka had two set points, but he converted the third one in the ninth game – 6-3.

In the second set, Lehecka was a bit more dominant. His serve and forehand were going well and it was hard for Čorič to keep up. Again the ninth game was decisive, when the Czech youngster broke his opponent’s serve and won the second set – 6-3.

The third set was more or less a formality. Jiri Lehecka was very confident and won three sets 6-3 and for the first time in his career made it past the first round in a Grand Slam tournament.

Jiri Lehecka (71st) – Borna Coric (23rd, Croatia) 6-3, 6-3, 6-3

Lehecka was followed a little later by qualifier Dalibor Svrcina (216th), who had a slightly more playable draw in the form of Spain’s born clay-court player Jaume Munar (62nd). Munar, who is a member of the top 100, was the favorite for this match.

But Svrcina brought with him great form from qualifying. He set the pace of the game from the start and the Spaniard was not at all good on serve or in the intermediate game.

The native of Ostrava Svrcina controlled the flow of the game and won the first set 6-3. The helpless Munar did not keep up in the exchanges and the 20-year-old Czech talent was patient in the exchanges. He broke Munar’s serve twice in the second set and won 6-2.

The third set was confirmation that Svrcina will fight for a big step up the ladder. The game looked very similar to the previous two sets and in the eighth game of the third set Svrcina could start to enjoy his progress to the second round.

Thus, it is a huge achievement in his first participation in the main stage of a Grand Slam. His performance did not escape the attention of the well-known tennis journalist José Morgado.

Sources: Australian Open, Livesport, Eurosport, Twitter