Mirra Andreeva was thrilled to start her Australian Open campaign with a comeback victory over Donna Vekic at Melbourne Park on Monday (January 19).
Fresh from clinching her fifth WTA Tour-level title in Adelaide last week, Andreeva recovered from a slow start to earn a 4-6 6-3 6-3 win over former Wimbledon semi-finalist Vekic.
The eighth seed let a 3-1 lead in the first set slip through her grasp as Vekic took the early advantage, but Andreeva eventually found her groove as the match progressed.
From 2-2 in the second set, the talented teenager won 10 of the remaining 11 games, sealing her date with Maria Sakkari in the next round with a stunning service game to love.
"I'm very happy with how I came back in this match," Andreeva said in her on-court
interview.
"We've been trying to work on me staying focused, sticking to the plan and doing what I have to do on the court.
"Sometimes it's more difficult, sometimes there are obviously days when it's harder to do that. Now I realise that it really depends on how much I want to do it.
"Now, so far, I've found the mindset [that it] really doesn't matter what's going on the court - just to still go for my shots and try to be brave. "
All control at the finish
Mirra Andreeva battles past Vekic into the second round! #AO26 pic.twitter.com/iKg5IXSDHh— wta (@WTA) January 19, 2026
Elsewhere in the first round, fourth seed Amanda Anisimova also made a winning start to her campaign with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Switzerland's Simona Waltert.
Anisimova has never gone beyond the fourth round in Melbourne, reaching that stage three times in 2019, 2022 and 2024, but she started in style at Margaret Court Arena.
She needed three set points but claimed the opener in 35 minutes before winning all 16 points on serve in the second set to book her place in the next round.
And she will be joined by compatriot Jessica Pegula, who wasted little time in beating Anastasia Zakharova, with her 6-2 6-1 victory confirmed in just one hour and six minutes.
Victoria Mboko, meanwhile, marked her debut at the Australian Open by cruising past Emerson Jones 6-4 6-1, with a tie against Catherine McNally up next.
Data Debrief: Andreeva out for grand slam glory
Andreeva's best run at a major tournament came in the 2024 edition of the French Open, where she reached the semi-finals, but given her impressive start here, she will be hoping to challenge some of the top seeds for the title in Melbourne this time around.
Indeed, since 2000, only Maria Sharapova (43), Nicole Vaidisova (39) and Coco Gauff (33) have won more women's singles grand slam matches than Andreeva (29) before turning 19.
But Mboko is another rising star who will want to impress. The Canadian became the first player to make her debut at the Australian Open as seeded since Emma Navarro in 2024 (#27) and the first as a top-20 seeded since Emma Raducanu in 2022 (#17).
