China's Wang storms into Australian Open 2nd round

MELBOURNE, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Wang Xinyu underlined her status as China's highest-ranked player at the Australian Open with a straight-set victory over qualifier Anhelina Kalinina on Tuesday.

Ranked 46th in the world, Wang hit 10 aces in a 6-3, 6-3 first-round victory in one hour and 33 minutes.

Wang will play former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko or Rebecca Sramkova in the second round.

The 24-year-old has yet to advance beyond the fourth round at a Grand Slam.

Wang arrived in Melbourne after reaching the second final of her career earlier this month, when she lost to Elina Svitolina in Auckland.

She controlled the opening set with strong serving and 11 winners. Kalinina, who reached a career-high ranking of 25th in 2023, mounted early resistance in the second set, with Wang wearing strapping on her left forearm.

Wang then won five straight games to close out the match. ■