Melbourne is known for its unpredictable wind and it blew both ways for Australian tennis fans on Tuesday. Torturous, late-night losses suffered by Daria Kasatkina and Kimberly Birrell came about 12 hours after Maya Joint’s straight-sets defeat, ending the Australian Open ambitions of the three highest ranked local female players.
As the sun comes up on Wednesday morning, however, the country will have six women in the second round, the most at a grand slam since eight progressed at Melbourne Park in 1992. The last to secure their berth was qualifier Maddison Inglis, who defeated compatriot Birrell 7-6 (6), 6-7 (9), 6-4
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