Third Seed Elena Rybakina Saves Set Points To Survive At Australian Open

World number three Elena Rybakina overcame a slow start and saved a clutch of set points to beat Karolina Pliskova 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 in her first match at the Australian Open on Tuesday. Last year's beaten finalist could not get on the board in the first two games as her 38th-ranked Czech opponent made a flying start. But the Kazakh third seed quickly found her feet on Rod Laver Arena against the 2019 semi-finalist, breaking to get back on terms.

The rest of the set went with serve, with Pliskova fending off three set points in the 12th game.

In the tie-break, it was Rybakina's turn to dig deep against the two-time Grand Slam finalist.

She saved three set points, the third with a cross-court forehand that just caught the line and took the set 8-6.

The 2022 Wimbledon champion, who won the Brisbane International earlier this month, broke in the third game of the second set to establish a firm grip on the match and suffered few scares after that.

Rybakina, who will face unseeded Russian Anna Blinkova in the second round, said it had been a tough first outing.

"I'm really happy that I managed to win and survive the first set," she said. "The second was a bit better."

She added: "No matter what the result was last year I'm super happy to be back. It was very positive for me even though I lost (in the 2023 final)."

Stress-hit Draper vomits on court at Australian Open 

Britain's Jack Draper put in a huge effort to win a five-set epic against American Marcos Giron at the Australian Open Tuesday, before rushing to a courtside bin and vomiting.

The 22-year-old was on court for 3 hours 20 minutes in searing heat during the hottest part of the day and needed a medical timeout to have his blood pressure taken at one point.

He also