China's Yuan suffers sixth straight first-round exit at Grand Slams

MELBOURNE, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- China's Yuan Yue endured her sixth consecutive first-round defeat at a Grand Slam, falling to 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at the Australian Open on Monday.

After dropping the first set, Yuan rallied to push the match to a deciding third set, but ultimately lost 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in a contest that lasted two hours and 16 minutes at Melbourne Park.

The world No. 53 briefly led 2-0 in the final set, but the experienced Russian veteran rallied to seize control of the match. Pavlyuchenkova, competing in her 15th Australian Open, showcased her power with 54 winners, more than double Yuan's total of 25. She also won 64 percent of her first serve points, compared to Yuan's 53 percent.

"I think her serve is better than mine, and I need to play more aggressively and consistently," said Yuan, 26.

Reflecting on her performance, she added: "I had a chance to win when I was leading 2-0 in the third set. But it's normal to lose to someone ranked much higher. I think I played reasonably well today. The result often comes down to key points."

Yuan's best Grand Slam performance came at the U.S. Open in 2022, where she reached the third round. Since then, she has faced early exits in all six of her Grand Slam appearances, including first-round losses at the Australian Open in both 2022 and 2023.