There was no shortage of surprises on day two of the 2023 Australian Open, with two of the women’s singles favorites crashing out in the first round in Melbourne.

Kaya Kanepi, first round loss to Kimberly Birrell

Kaia Kanepi, known for knocking out many Grand Slam favorites in recent years (Simone Halep has admitted that the Estonian is the player she fears the most), does not seem to be coping too well with the status of the first seed and suffered a surprise defeat against Kimberly Birrell (167 WTA, wild card winner).

Melbourne’s 31st seed Kanepi led 6-3, 5-4 but was unable to close out the match in time as Birrell recovered the break to win the second set on a tie-break (7-4). The hosts dominated the deciding set and won 6-1. The match lasted two hours and 32 minutes.

In the next round, Kimberly Birrell will meet Linda Fruhvirtova (82 WTA, 17 years old), after the athlete from the Czech Republic defeated Australia’s Jamie Fourlis (160 WTA) with a score of 6-0, 6-4.

Martina Trevisan, eliminated in the first round by Anna Karolina Shmidlova

Martina Trevisan, the 21st Australian Grand Slam favorite, lost convincingly to Anna Karolina Schmidlova (105 WTA) of Slovakia, 6-3, 6-2.

Better known for her results on clay (2022 champion in Rabat and semi-finalist at Roland Garros), the Italian conceded after just an hour and 12 minutes of play.

Schmidlova will face another Italian in the second round in Melbourne after Camila Giorgi (70 WTA) beat Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Roland Garros 2021 finalist) 6-0, 6-1.

Australian Open 2023 will be held from January 16 to 29. The champions of the title were Ashley Barty (now retired from sports) and Rafael Nadal.