Lamens, the only Dutch player in the women's main draw of the Australian Open, was drawn to 54th-ranked Potapova, who'd recently switched her playing nationality from Russian to Austrian.
Lamens, the world no. 95, got off to a hot start after breaking Potapova twice in her first two service games whilst reaching break point five times. A re-break in the fourth game got Potapova back in it until Lamens hit back in the ninth game, where two set points were enough for her to clinch the set win.
The Dutchwoman continued her fine form in the second set and raced to a dominant 5-1 lead in the set after three consecutive breaks. With the win in sight, Lamens lost control, however, as Potapova rallied to an astonishing 7-5 set win on the back of 15 winners, as opposed to Lamens' five, and a 62 per cent return point win rate.
Potapova's surging comeback seemingly broke Lamens, who fended off two break points in the third set's first game, but only defended one of three in the rest of the set as she fell to Potapova in a heartbreaking 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 loss to the Russian-Austrian player.
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