Former Hilton Head resident eliminated from Australian Open

Alison Riske saw her Australian Open run come to an end Friday, as the former Van der Meer Academy student was dispatched in the third round by a resurgent Sorana Cirstea of Romania.

Cirstea was aggressive from the start in a 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) third-round victory, showing no letdown following Wednesday’s upset of 10th seed Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain.

Riske, currently No.42 in the world rankings, had a chance to force a third set as she broke Cirstea’s serve on two occasions. However, the Romanian held firm by gaining the upper hand in the tiebreaker to extend her own strong run in Melbourne.

Currently No.42 in the world rankings, Riske was making her fifth foray into the third round of a Grand Slam event, but has reached the next stage only once. That came at the 2013 U.S. Open, when she made it through as a wild card before falling to Daniela Hantuchova.

This story was originally published January 20, 2017 at 10:04 AM with the headline "Former Hilton Head resident eliminated from Australian Open."