'It's very hard': grieving Ostapenko beaten at Australian Open

Heartbroken Jelena Ostapenko was knocked out of the Australian Open on Thursday after taking the difficult decision to play despite the sudden death of her father.

The 22-year-old former French Open champion, whose father Jevgenijs passed away earlier this month, had said playing in Melbourne was the best way to take her mind off her loss.

She pulled out of a tournament in Auckland at the start of the year and flew home to Latvia, but decided to play in the Australian Open where she was beaten by Belinda Bencic in the second round.

Her father had driven her to the airport for the flight to Auckland and had been buoyed by her return to form, having slumped since winning the 2017 French Open.

"My dad was always believing in me," she told the official Australian Open website before Thursday's match. "I decided to play (in Melbourne) because I will be busy with something.

"If I stay home I think it's gonna push me even more and will be even harder for me."