The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
British duo on course for Down Under tilt
● Scotland’s Norrie through to quarter-finals of the ASB Classic
Dan Evans and James Ward kept their hopes of qualifying for the Australian Open on track but fellow Britons Katie Swan and Jay Clarke were left disappointed.
Evans, 28, swept aside Brazil’s Rogerio Dutra Da Silva in the first round of qualifying, before Ward battled back from a set down to defeat home favourite Maverick Banes.
Swan, however, left court in a wheelchair after injury forced her to retire against Bianca Andreescu, while Clarke suffered a straightsets defeat.
World number 190 Evans needed just under an hour to post a 6-2, 6-3 victory, breaking his opponent three times without facing a single break point against his own serve.
He will now face Austrian Jurij Rodionov in the second round of qualifying as he bids to secure a spot in the main draw.
British number three, Ward, did not have such a smooth progression as he was made to work hard by 26-year-old Australian Banes.
Banes, ranked 301st in the world, recovered from a break of service in the opening game to take the opening set.
But he was eventually overpowered and Ward won four successive games to close out the match and record a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 success to meet Argentinian Marco Trungelliti.
Elsewhere, Swan was left in tears and considerable pain as her match with Canada’s Andreescu came to an abrupt end.
The 19-year-old suffered a back spasm, although the problem is not thought to be serious.
Andreescu led 6-1 at the time as she looks to continue the form which saw her reach Sunday’s Auckland Open final.
Earlier, Clarke – ranked 237th in the world – suffered a 6-2, 6-3 defeat to Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego.
The 20-year-old looked to be fighting back in the second set, breaking Sonego in the opening game, but could not hold on to the lead and was immediately broken back.
He then failed to capitalise on a chance to edge ahead again at 2-2, before losing his serve for a second time as his opponent sealed the win.
Meanwhile, Scotland’s Cameron Norrie secured his spot in the quarterfinals of the ASB Classic in Auckland with a straightsets win over Joao Sousa.
The 23-year-old saved all six break points faced to battle past his Portuguese opponent 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 in an hour and 35 minutes.
A closely-fought first set saw Norrie edge ahead in the tiebreak, before he went on to convert his first and only break point of the match in the third game of the second set.
The single break of serve was enough to win and meet American Taylor Fritz in the last eight. right balance on and off the court and consistency remains a problem. This will be Watson’s eighth straight appearance in Melbourne.
While Konta and Watson disappointed, 2018 saw a host of young British women make leaps forward, none more significant than 22-year-old Boulter. Tall with a big serve and forehand, Boulter, from Leicestershire, is hugely ambitious and made the breakthrough into the top 100 in October having started the season at 199.