December 31st in Brisbane was marked by the beginning of main-draw play and it turned into a long day, as the match between Samantha Stosur and Marie Bouzkova finished past midnight, so it started in 2018 and finished in 2019! The world No.139 Bouzkova went through qualifying, then came back from a set down to beat the Australian in her home country and set up a second-round meeting with compatriot Karolina Pliskova, who progressed with a three-set victory over Yulia Putintseva.
Monday turned out to be a perfect day for qualifiers, as Bouzkova was joined in the second round by Harriet Dart, who defeated Priscilla Hon, and by Destanee Aiava, who stunned Kristina Mladenovic.