Francesca beats Monica Niculescu in first round of qualifying

Britain’s Francesca Jones beat Monica Niculescu to reach the second round of qualifying for the Australian Open.
The 20-year-old beat the Romanian 28th seed, who is a former top-30 player, 6-3 6-2 in Dubai.
Jones will play Croatia’s Jana Fett next as she bids to reach a Grand Slam main draw for the first time.
British number three Harriet Dart, 24, who reached the second round of the Australian Open in 2020, was beaten 7-5 6-2 by American Grace Min.
Elsewhere, Britain’s Cameron Norrie, 25, beat third seed Adrian Mannarino to reach the the Delray Beach Open quarter-finals.
Norrie claimed a 6-2 7-5 win over the Frenchman to set up a meeting with Frances Tiafoe of America.