Jessica Pegula starts Australian Open with win after reaching final in WTA opener

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- Jessica Pegula won her first-round match at the Australian Open in straight sets Monday after tuning up for the Grand Slam tournament with a runner-up finish in her first WTA Tour event of the season.

Pegula, the No. 7 seed, defeated unseeded Australian Maya Joint 6-3, 6-0 to advance to Wednesday's second round, where she will meet Elise Mertens from Belgium.

The 30-year-old Buffalonian whose parents own the Bills and Sabres, Pegula lost in the second...