Shellharbour’s Ellen Perez will turn her focus to an Australian Open doubles campaign after crashing out in 53 minutes against China’s Yafan Wang in the opening round of the singles in Melbourne.
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Perez had been handed a wildcard for the tournament but struggled to make an impact, conceding 6-4, 6-0 to the 24-year-old world No.65.
After conceding an early break, Perez had fought back in the opening set.
But while she had the higher first serve percentage, she could win just 59 per cent of first serves and only four of 19 points on her second.
And Perez finished with just nine of 42 receiving points, making 42 unforced errors to 14, a recipe which saw her with few answers in the second set, as she failed to win a game.
It was all over in less than an hour.
It’s the second time the left-hander, who came through the US College system competing for the University of Georgia, has reached the main draw, after losing the first round at the 2016 US Open, also as a wildcard.
Perez will now team up with fellow Aussie Arina Rodionova when they take on Hao-Ching and Latisha Chan on Wednesday, the seventh seeded doubles combination from Chinese Taipei.
The Chans recently claimed the Hobart International crown in the build-up to the Australian Open.
Perez had also been in impressive recent form leading into the first grand slam tournament for the year, only going down to world No.54 Pauline Parmentier in Hobart, 6-2, 5-7, 7-5.
Tim Barrow
When it comes to sport - at professional and community level - in the Illawarra, I'm here to provide insight, context and opinion, as well as the latest news you won't find anywhere else.
When it comes to sport - at professional and community level - in the Illawarra, I'm here to provide insight, context and opinion, as well as the latest news you won't find anywhere else.
