17 Jan 2012

Erakovic wins opening match at Australian Open

3:21 pm on 17 January 2012

New Zealand tennis No 1 Marina Erakovic won her opening match at the Australian Open on Monday night, beating France's Irena Pavlovic.

The match was close despite the scoreline. Erakovic won the first set 6-4 and then 7-6 on a 7-4 tiebreak.

She will next meet Christina McHale from the US, who beat Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-2 6-4 on Monday.

Erakovic, 23, previously reached the second round in Melbourne in 2009, before being beaten by Safarova in a marathon three-set match.