South and O'Brien suffer first round defeats

Posted: Monday 19th January 2009 | 8:41

MELANIE South and Katie O'Brien both suffered straight set first round defeats at the Australian Open.

Four British women have qualified for the main draw in Melbourne - the best representation in a Slam event outside Wimbledon since 1992.

But for two of them the championship didn't last long.

British number two South, 22, went down in just an hour and 15 minutes to France's Marion Bartoli, a Wimbledon finalist in 2007 and a player ranked 85 places above her.

She had her chances - especially when leading the second set 4-1 - but over 30 unforced errors conspired against her in a 6-2, 6-4 defeat.

O'Brien admitted her serving let her down as she lost 6-4, 6-4 to unseeded Romanian Monica Niculescu.

In a close match lasting nearly two hours, the British number five also had opportunities but was let down by a poor second serve percentage.

British number one Anne Keothavong, a semi-finalist at the recent WTA Tour event in Auckland, starts her campaign against Anna Chakvetadze later today.