Tennis: Glushko still alive, but Pe'er and Weintraub ousted

Glushko, ranked No. 128 in the world, made easy work of Eri Hozumi (190) of Japan, claiming a 6-3, 6-1 victory.

By ALLON SINAI
Israeli tennis star Julia Glushko in action (photo credit: REUTERS)
Israeli tennis star Julia Glushko in action
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Julia Glushko advanced to the second round of the Australian Open qualifiers on Thursday, but Shahar Pe’er and Amir Weintraub both saw their hopes of reaching the main draw of the year’s first Grand Slam event dashed in Melbourne.
Glushko, ranked No. 128 in the world, made easy work of Eri Hozumi (190) of Japan, claiming a 6-3, 6-1 victory. The Israeli No. 1, who is aiming to return to the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2014 US Open, will face Amandine Hesse (165) of France in the second round on Friday.
Pe’er’s (175) main draw major drought also stretches back to 2014 and she will have to wait at least until this year’s French Open to end it after losing 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to Czech Kristyna Pliskova (117).
Weintraub (207), who was aiming to reach the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament for just the second time in his career after progressing to the second round of the Australian Open in 2013, could only make it as far as the second round of the qualifiers where he was beaten on Thursday 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-2 by Daniel Evans (185) of Great Britain.