Daria Gavrilova officially became an Australian citizen in November last year and after starting the 2015 tennis season on a big note, being part of the big Hopman Cup victory in Perth, Australia, the Russian-born player recorded her first big official win for her adopted country on Day 3 of the Australian Open, upsetting sixth seed Petra Kvitova in the second round in straight sets.
The world No.39 Gavrilova managed to stay collected despite immense nervousness in the end, when she dropped serve when serving for the match at 5-3. During the encounter, Gavrilova converted as much as five out of six break points earned and helped by Kvitova’s 35 unforced errors the match went into the Australian’s hands 6-4 6-4.
Plenty of support from the stands on Margaret Court Arena sure helped the 21-year-old Gavrilova.
Kissing her racquet on crucial points also proved beneficial!
Gavrilova will now play the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time, her next opponent being Kristina Mladenovic.
And by the way, did you notice a white dandelion tattoo on Gavrilova’s left shoulder blade? A subtle detail, just like the arrow-shaped laser cut design at the back of her berry Asics Spring Athlete Tank. Remember, Gavrilova signed with Asics in late 2015?
This is an upset on the ranking wise but many people expect this to happeyn. Dasha really on fire now while Kvitova has no match under her belt this season. Good job Dasha!!