BRISBANE, Australia —
Karolina Pliskova and Elina Svitolina, who both had career-highlight victories over Serena Williams last season, are already through to the Brisbane International quarterfinals.
A 16-year-old high school student, who was inspired to take up tennis when she was 5 after watching Williams on TV, also made a mark on Tuesday with a first-round win.
Australian qualifier Destanee Aiava became the first player born in the 2000s to win a main draw match in an elite WTA event when she beat 31-year-old Bethanie Mattek-Sands 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a first-round match that spanned two days. She already has a wild-card entry to the Australian Open but, before then, will face two-time major winner Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round of the tuneup event for the season’s first Grand Slam.
The third-seeded Pliskova, who beat Serena Williams in the U. S. Open semifinals last year before losing the championship match to Angelique Kerber, beat American qualifier Asia Muhammad 6-1, 6-4 to secure the first spot in the quarterfinals.
