Lulu Sun v Linda Fruhvirtova: Kiwi out in Australian Open first round after injury comeback falters

New Zealand tennis player Lulu Sun pictured during her first-round loss to Linda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic at the Australian Open. Photo / Photosport

Lulu Sun’s wait for a maiden victory at the Australian Open goes on after a first-round defeat for the third straight year in Melbourne.

Returning to action from a lengthy injury break that saw her miss the ASB Classic, the Kiwi world No 86 fell to Czech qualifier Linda Fruhvirtova 6-3, 7-5 on Court 13.

Sun made a strong start in both sets, up a break in each, but fizzled out. Rust or inconsistency – call it what you want but it was understandable after more than three months off the court.

Sun’s aggressive approach, the Bazball of tennis, can literally be hit and miss at times. She had 40 winners compared to her opponent’s 20, but with that came a high number of unforced errors – 46 to 16.

Serving also let her down, with her 51% first-serve percentage barely bettered on her second serve at 59%.

The 20-year-old Fruhvirtova, ranked 132 in the world, looked more comfortable on court, having played three three-setters in qualifying to make the main draw. She made the fourth round in Melbourne in 2024, her best result at a grand slam.

Sun last played in October when she lost in the Guangzhou Open final. That took her back inside the top 100 – after she had started 2025 at No 40 – before it had blown out to 164 before the US Open.

The Kiwi made a strong start, breaking Fruhvirtova in the opening game before holding serve to take an early 2-0 lead. She upped her game to keep the break at 3-1 but a mix of forehand winners and forehand unforced errors opened the door for Fruhvirtova.

The Czech won five games in a row, as the errors became more regular from Sun, to take out the first set 6-3.

Fruhvirtova made it six games in a row with a break to open the second set before the Kiwi responded with a break of her own, then held to make it 2-1.

Another break won on her opponent’s double fault and Sun was up 3-1, before the second set followed the same theme as the first. Just as it looked like Sun was forcing pressure on the Czech’s second serve, the Kiwi began to struggle for her own. Sun had her sixth double fault before Fruhvirtova broke her in the fifth game to make it 3-2 and then held serve for 3-3.

Just like the first set, the Kiwi went from 3-1 up to a 4-3 down in quick time.

But Sun wasn’t going out without a fight. With Fruhvirtova serving for the match, Sun survived three match points to break back and make it 5-5.

However, Fruhvirtova broke back to serve for the match a second time and managed to close it out and set up a second-round clash with compatriot Tereza Valentova.

Cameron McMillan has been a sports journalist since 2003 and is NZME’s Deputy Head of Sport.