Halep’s return in Sydney falls flat as Barty stuns top seed

● World No 1 suffers defeat in her first match after three-month injury lay-off

World No 1 Simona Halep crashed out of the Sydney International with a shock straight-sets defeat to home favourite Ashleigh Barty.

Top seed Halep, warming up for the Australian Open where she finished runner-up in 2018, elected to start 2019 without a coach and her first match for more than three months following a back injury did not go to plan.

Australian No 1 Barty, pictured, last year’s runner-up, won the second-round match 6-4, 6-4 in an hour and 27 minutes, taking her second-successive scalp having beaten 2017 French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko in round one.

The 22-year-old Barty will play tenth seed Elise Mertens in the quarter-finals following the Belgian’s 6-3, 6-1 win over Estonian Anett Kontaveit.

Earlier yesterday, Mertens won 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2 in her first-round match with Katerina Siniakova, while Kontaveit beat Monica Puig 2-6, 7-5, 6-1.

In the bottom half of the draw, defending champion Angelique Kerber faces a mouthwatering last-eight encounter against two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.

Czech Kvitova, who won this tournament in 2015, battled past Su-wei Hsieh 7-6 (2), 6-2, with three-time grand slam champion Kerber already having beaten Italy’s Giorgi Camila in straight sets on Tuesday.

Fourth seed Sloane Stephens was knocked out by qualifier Yulia Putintseva after surrendering a one-set lead to lose 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-0.

Holland’s Kiki Bertens, seeded seventh, awaits Putintseva after she received a walkover win due to former world No 1 Garbinemuguruzasufferinga gastrointestinal illness.

The other quarter-final will see qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich play Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky. Belarusian Sasnovich defeated Priscilla Hon 0-6, 6-3, 6-3, while Bacsinszky also came from a set down to beat an Australian player, winning 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 against Sam Stosur.

At the Hobart International, France’s Alize Cornet remains on course to regain the title she won in 2016 after easing into the quarter-finals.

The sixth seed beat compatriot Pauline Parmentier 6-3, 6-0 to set up a meeting with Belgian qualifier Greet Minnen, a 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (3) winner against Magda Linette.

Seventh seed Kirsten Flipkens came from a set down to win 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-1 against Viktoria Kuzmova.

Unseeded American Sofia Kenin will be her last-eight opponent following her 7-6 (6), 6-3 success against Tunisian Ons Jabeur.

0 Simona Halep walks off the court after losing to Ashleigh Barty at the Sydney International.