Kanepi broke Hunter's serve in the third game of set one, before holding serve to extend her lead to 3:1. After breaking the Australian once more, Kanepi took the first set comfortably, 6:2.

Set two began evenly, with both players holding serve, before Kanepi showed her superiority, winning the final five games on the bounce to complete a 6:2, 6:2 victory in the match.

"Today was probably the best match I've played here. The conditions suit me - it was not sunny or really hot and there was no wind either, it was like indoor conditions. Everything came off more or less," Kanepi said, according to a report by Delfi Sport.

Estonia's number two had originally failed to qualify for the tournament's main draw, though was given a second chance as a "lucky loser" when Romania's Irina-Camelia Begu was forced to pull out through injury.

"It was really surprising for me because I have never been a lucky loser before," said Kanepi.

"At the beginning it seemed like I couldn't play in the main tournament, but then, the next day, after I had already done my training and was ready to go to Melbourne (the Australian Open starts next week – ed.), it turned out that I could still play. It's been an interesting experience," she said.

Kanepi will now face Spain's Paula Badosa (WTA No. 11) of Spain in the next round. Badosa defeated Estonia's number one Anett Kontaveit in round one, dashing hopes of an all-Estonian second round clash.

Kaia Kanepi's second round match in the Adelaide International 2 WTA 500 category tournament is provisionally scheduled to start at 7.30 a.m. Estonian time on Wednesday.

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