Britain’s Gabriella Taylor OUT of Australian Open qualifying after first-round loss to America’s Kristie Ahn
- Gabriella Taylor suffered a bruising defeat by Kristie Ahn of the USA on Tuesday
- World No 189 was beaten 6-1, 6-1 in the first round of Australian Open qualifying
- The 20-year-old Taylor went five games without a point in the opening set
Britain’s Gabriella Taylor failed to progress to the second qualifying round of the Australian Open after a bruising defeat by Kristie Ahn of the USA.
Taylor, 20, went five games without a point in the opening set and lost her serve again in the seventh, falling 6-1.
The second set got off to better start for the Brit, with Taylor breaking her 26-year-old opponent in the first game.
Britain’s Gabriella Taylor failed to reach the second qualifying round of the Australian Open
But the youngster could not sustain the fightback Down Under and succumbed 6-1 again.
Ranked 189 by the WTA, Taylor is more than 20 places higher than Ahn, 26, who is ranked 210.
Jo Konta’s preparations for the Australian Open, meanwhile, suffered another blow when she was forced to retire from the Sydney International for the second time in two days.
But her team insist she has nothing more than a minor neck problem, sustained in the warm-up for a qualifying match over the weekend.
Taylor is more than 20 places higher than the victorious Kristie Ahn, 26, who is ranked 210