Local favourite Daria Gavrilova is into the third round of the Australian Open after a tough three-set win over Ana Konjuh.
Spurred on by the Hisense Arena crowd, Gavrilova battled her way to a 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 win over her 19-year-old opponent.
“I’m really enjoying my tennis and playing at home is just amazing,” the Russian-born 22-year-old said immediately after the match.
Overpowered but not outgunned, the diminutive Aussie ran through the first set before the hard-hitting Konjuh found her range.
The Croat won the second set and finished the match with more than twice as many winners as the Aussie — 34 to 13.
Gavrilova’s grit and ability to scramble kept her in the contest as she continued to put balls into play, miscuing just 25 unforced errors as opposed to Konjuh’s whopping 55.
Earlier, Aussie wildcard Andrew Whittington was bounced out of the Open in straight sets by 20th seed Ivo Karlovic.
The big-serving Croat powered past Whiitington, 23, winning 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in two hours.
Whittington was playing in his first major singles draw, beating Adam Pavlasek in four sets to reach the second round, but Karlovic was too much for him to handle.
Karlovic would have been thankful for the quick win as he was coming off a marathon first round that featured 42 games in the fifth set against Horacio Zeballos.
This post originally appeared on ABC News.
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