World No.6 Maria Sakkari battled past Slovenia’s Tamara Zidansek in three sets to reach the second round of the Adelaide International on Monday and kick off the new WTA season.

Sakkari, 26, was kept on court for just over two hours before seeing off Zidansek 6-2, 0-6, 6-4. Third seed Sakkari, who broke into the top 10 in November, admitted she had been well below her best as she warms up for the Australian Open later this month.