Ash Barty's 2020 season is off to a shaky start after she lost her opening singles match of the year at the Brisbane International in straight sets to American qualifier Jennifer Brady, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4).
World number one Barty was uncharacteristically sloppy, hitting 26 unforced errors to her opponent's 15, as she worked through her off-season rustiness against an opponent who was already playing her fifth game this week.
Barty pledged to donate her winnings from the Brisbane International singles and doubles competitions to the Australian Red Cross appeal.
In losing at the second round stage of the singles, Barty will claim $32,000 for the appeal, and could add up to $61,000 more should she claim the doubles prize.
"You can call it rust or you can just call it a bit of execution," Barty said.
"For me it was on those returning games. I had probably had half a dozen second serve returns where I failed to make it into the court, in that first set in particular.
"And then Jen grew in confidence.
"You have to give credit where credit's due.
"But also for me that's probably the only point of the match where I look at and I'm a little bit disappointed in myself and a little bit disappointed with the execution."
Barty could not get near Brady's serve, failing to earn a break point, with the American taking the chance she had in the first set.
The crowd came alive as Barty rallied during the second set tie-break, but could not lift their home-town hero as she lost after 91 minutes of game time.
In front of a healthy and expectant crowd on Pat Rafter Arena — the first time the main show court at the Brisbane Tennis Centre had been used for the WTA Brisbane International after the ATP Cup controversially had priority at the start of the week — Barty was beaten by the superior power of an American opponent she had not lost to in two prior meetings.
The opening game of the match was simplicity itself for Barty, but as the first set continued, it became apparent that Brady would not just lie down and play the role of the sacrificial lamb for the massed supporters on Barty's home court.
Brady has already come through three games of qualifying on consecutive days and followed that by dispatching former world number one Maria Sharapova in a come-from-behind three-set victory on Tuesday.
That tenacity and grit was clearly in evidence against Barty, as the 24-year-old world number 53 played the better tennis throughout the match.
In the first set, the American broke Barty after a bruising seventh game in which it was she, not the world number one, who was dominating the court.
Barty showed some delightful flashes throughout, but there was rust in there as well as the Australian hit 11 unforced errors in the first set, too often finding the net with her ground strokes.
It was a problem that plagued her as early as the warm-up, but was far from her only issue.
Brady's crushing ground strokes forced Barty further and further back behind the baseline as the American dictated terms during the lengthier rallies.
The expectation around Barty's home court was palpable, as every shot that hit the net was followed by an anguished groan of disappointment.
Brady will meet the winner of this afternoon's clash between fifth seed Petra Kvitova and Liudmila Samsonova.
Barty still has the semi-finals of the doubles tournament to look forward to in Brisbane, with Dutch partner Kiki Bertens.
