Evans and Ward progress to round two of Australian Open qualifying

Australian Open 2019
Venue: Melbourne Park Dates: 14-27 January
Coverage: Daily live commentaries on the BBC Sport website, listen to Tennis Breakfast daily from 07:00 GMT on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and watch highlights on BBC TV and online from 19 January.

Britons Dan Evans and James Ward have reached the second round of Australian Open qualifying in Melbourne.

Evans, who reached the fourth round of the 2017 tournament, easily beat Brazil’s Rogerio Dutra Silva 6-2 6-3.

British number three Ward fought back against Australia’s Maverick Banes to win 3-6 6-1 6-2.

However, Jay Clarke and Katie Swan lost their first-round matches, with Swan leaving the court in a wheelchair after suffering a muscle spasm.

The 19-year-old trailed Canadian Bianca Andreescu 6-1 before retiring injured, although the problem is not thought to be too serious.

Clarke was beaten 6-2 6-3 by top seed Lorenzo Sonego of Italy.

Evans and Ward will need two further victories to qualify for the Australian Open, which begins on 14 January.

World number 190 Evans will next play Austrian Jurij Rodionov, while Ward will face Argentinian Marco Trungelliti.