M Keys d. D Aiava 6-2, 6-2; J Konta d. A Tomljanovic 7-6, 2-6, 7-6 (10-7)
The dream run for Australians in the women’s draw ended on Tuesday after Australia’s third highest-ranked player Ajla Tomljanovic and wildcard Destanee Aiava both went down at Melbourne Park.
Tomljanovic – who gained Australian citizenship only last year – went down to Brit Johanna Konta, while Sydney-based wildcard entry Aiava was beaten in just over an hour by 17th seed American Madison Keys, a former US Open finalist.
Destanee Aiava is out of the Australian Open.Credit:AAP
Konta, who sits 10 places above the Australian in the world rankings at No.37, took almost three hours to advance to the second round in a hard-fought, see-sawing encounter.
Both players looked to have strangleholds on the match at different points, with Konta’s consistency and attacking endeavour eventually coming out on top in a final set decided by the new 10-point tiebreaker.
It was the pair’s second encounter in as many weeks, Tomljanovic having beaten the former Open semi-finalist in straight sets at the Brisbane International.
The Croatian-born Tomljanovic has been dogged by injury in recent years.
Ajla Tomljanovic feel to Johanna Konta in three sets.Credit:AAP
The 25-year-old breached the world top 50 in early 2015 but shoulder surgery a year later meant her ranking had plummeted into the 900s by 2017.
Fighting her way back into form via the ITF Tour, Tomljanovic – who will begin residing in Australia following the summer of tennis – recently said she remains nervous about re-injuring herself.
"It’s tough now with my history," she said.
"I feel one thing and maybe in my head it’s bigger than it really is … my biggest fear is taking time off and injuries."
On Monday Australians Kimberly Birrell, Zoe Hives, Astra Sharma and highly-fancied Ash Barty all advanced to the second round.
Countrywomen Daria Gavrilova and Sam Stosur are both in action on Tuesday.
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