Anne Keothavong is set for a tough Australian Open first round clash against rising star Mona BarthelYou can watch and bet on Keothavong v Barthel live for free at bet365 > live tennisBritish No. 2 Anne Keothavong has been handed a harsh draw at the Australian Open this year, where she’s scheduled to take on Germany’s Mona Barthel in round one. Keothavong has beaten Barthel a few times in the not so distant past, but Barthel seems to be rapidly improving, so this will be a very tricky contest.
Barthel shocked the field in Hobart last week by winning the title as a qualifier. Her draw was unforgiving, but successes against Anabel Medina Garrigues, Jarmila Gajdosova, Angelique Kerber, and finally top seed Yanina Wickmayer eventually led her to glory. After racking up results like this, Barthel is in the right kind of form to potentially make a lengthy run in Melbourne.
Keothavong has a big task ahead of her on Monday. Barthel fully deserved the title in Hobart, and if she can repeat the kind of performanc
