Short stay for Riske at Australian Open
For the third time in five years, Alison Riske of McMurray has been eliminated in the first round of the Australian Open tennis tournament.
Riske lost Monday to Oceane Dodin of France in three sets. Riske, who is ranked No. 40 in the world, and Dodin, a wild-card qualifier who is ranked No. 183, batted for two hours and 10 minutes before Dodin pulled out a 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 victory.
Riske advanced to the third round of the Australian last year and is 2-4 all-time in the tournament.
Dodin survived a first-set collapse to win a 7-5 tiebreaker. Riske evened the match by winning the second set that included five double faults and 29 unforced errors by the 18-year-old Dodin. In the third set, however, Dodin had one break of Riske’s serve and got her first career win at a major tournament.
Riske is entered in women’s doubles with teammate Madison Keys. The duo will play third-seeded Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina of Russia in the first round.