Daria Gavrilova is primed for her first WTA title defence but fellow Australian star Ashleigh Barty has pulled out of the Connecticut Open battling illness a week out from the US Open.
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Barty cited a viral illness as she withdrew from the field in New Haven on Saturday.
Preparing for the year's final grand slam in New York, world No.16 Barty has played strongly and is coming off back-to-back losses to world No.1 Simona Halep - in a semi-final at the Canadian Open in Montreal and then in the round of 16 in Cincinnati this week.
World 23. Gavrilova will face 55th-ranked Irina Camelia Begu in the first round, when she returns to the event where 12 months ago she claimed her lone WTA title.
Fellow Australian Samantha Stosur must get past Camilla Giorgi of Italy in the final round of qualifying if she is to join Gavrilova in the main draw.
The 34-year-old Stosur, ranked 65th, is seeking a confidence-building lead in to the US Open, where she famously claimed her grand slam title with victory over Serena Williams in the 2011 final.
Australian Associated Press
