Australian rookie Ellen Perez will turn her attention to Melbourne Park after being knocked out in the opening round of the Hobart International by Frenchwoman Pauline Parmentier.
The 23-year-old wildcard fought hard against experienced world No. 54 but went down 6-2 5-7 7-5 on Monday.
"There was a time in that match when I could have let her run away with an easy win. I really knuckled down and tried to compete," Perez told reporters.
"I was really happy I could at least take it to three sets."
Perez, ranked 175 in the world, will make her Australian Open debut later this month after being granted a wildcard.
Hailing from NSW, the rookie had a breakthrough 2018 and rose by more than 150 spots in the WTA rankings.
Alison Bai and Zoe Hives, the two other Australians in the Hobart field, have the chance to make the second round when they meet Alize Cornet and Johanna Larsson, respectively, on Tuesday.
In other round one action, former world No.11 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova lost to 20-year-old Belarusian Vera Lapko in three sets.
The 2015 Hobart champion Heather Watson, who qualified for the main draw, also went down to Irina-Camelia Begu 6-1 6-4.
Last year's runner-up Mihaela Buzarnescu has a round-one clash with Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, who partnered Roger Federer to win the Hopman Cup in Perth.
