Melbourne: Jodie Burrage suffered a bitter defeat on her main draw debut at the Australian Open as a promising start against Tamara Korpatsch ended in a 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 loss on Sunday afternoon.
Burrage had opened the contest playing excellent attacking tennis, dominating from inside the baseline with her superior pace and weight of shot and smothering Korpatsch’s weak second serve.
From the beginning of the second set though, Korpatsch demonstrated her greater experience by cutting down on her errors, chasing down balls and lengthening their exchanges. The 28-year-old made it extremely difficult for Burrage to hit through her defence and as the wind began to move the ball around, Burrage’s game quickly unravelled.
Once Korpatsch took control of the match, the No 81 faced minimal resistance as she tore through the final seven games. Burrage said that the brisk ending was a reflection of her lack of self-confidence.
