It was a classic underdog scenario. Barry has never played a match at this level – nor a top-100 player in her career – and was an $8.00 outsider with the bookmakers. She has mostly been restricted to events on the lower tiers of the ITF tour. In contrast, Avanesyan is an established tour professional, who reached the fourth round of the 2023 French Open, beating world No 12 Belinda Bencic on the way.
But Barry belied any nerves, breaking Avanesyan in the first game of the match, then skipping out to a 2-0 lead with an assured hold.
In difficult breezy conditions, Barry was prepared to go for her shots. It was an admirable strategy – and often worked, as she found the paint from the back of the baseline.
Consistency was always going to be a struggle though, as she tried to adjust to the pace and heavier ball coming back. The players traded breaks, but Barry provided plenty of highlights, with an amazing retrieval in the seventh game.
She also showed real mettle serving at 5-6 down, with the point of the match at 40-40. Barry was almost in the corporate boxes as she retrieved a deep moonball, then came up with a perfect backhand passing shot on the run.
Barry was always trailing in the tiebreak, with the experience of her opponent showing through. She retrieved a 4-1 deficit to get back to 4-4, then saved two set points, sinking to her knees in relief with the second as it clipped the net cord.
But Avanesyan took her third opportunity, as Barry dumped a running forehand into the net.
The second set was more straightforward, as the Russian started to find her range and more mistakes crept into Barry’s game.
She never stopped trying – but struggled to hold serve – while the European player was clinical.
High seeds survive early scares
No 4 seed Emma Navarro needed a comeback effort to avoid a surprise early exit against Czech qualifier Linda Fruhvirtova, but was able to navigate her way into the second round.
Navarro had few answers for her Czech counterpart in the opening set as she was broken three times, with Fruhvirtova claiming the first set 6-2 in 33 minutes.
However, the world No 31 found her footing in the second set and, after falling a break behind early, she fought her way back into the contest, winning the second set 6-4. The American then controlled the third set, winning 6-2 to claim a 2-1 win and progress.
It was the second time in as many years that Fruhvirtova has failed to progress after going a set ahead in the first round. In 2023, the current world No 88 won the first set against Emma Raducanu, but was eventually beaten.
It was a similar situation for No 5 seed Marie Bouzkova, who needed three sets to get passed Magdalena Frech. Bouzkova claimed the first set in dominant fashion and she didn’t drop a game, but Frech fought back in the second to take the set 6-3. Bouzkova ultimately prevailed 6-4 in the third to move on.
No 3 seed Lesia Tsurenko had no such issues in progressing through the opening round of the tournament with a straight sets win over American qualifier Sachia Vickery. Elsewhere, China’s Wang Xiyu and France’s Diane Parry beat Romanian Jaqueline Cristian and Emina Bektas in three sets respectively.
