World number one Ashleigh Barty has started her 2022 tennis season with a win, coming back to beat American Coco Gauff.

Barty, the 2021 Wimbledon champion, rallied from a set down to beat the 17-year-old Gauff 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 at the Adelaide International on Wednesday night.

It was her first competitive match since she was beaten in the third round of the US Open in September, having chosen to end 2021 early to spend time at home in Australia.

Gauff capitalized on unforced errors from Barty to win the first set and led 4-2 in the second set before Barty, who won in Adelaide in 2021, fought her way back.

She raced to a 5-1 lead in the final set before closing out the victory with a volley, setting up a quarterfinal clash with either compatriot Ajla Tomljanovic or Sofia Kenin.

"I felt like I played a pretty good quality match considering it was my first match in a few months," Barty, who is favorite to win the Australian Open, said after the match.

"Coco played great. She forced me to hit a lot of balls tonight and I felt like I got better and better as the match went on. It was nice to come out here and get some court time."

Earlier on Wednesday, world number 100 Kaja Juvan stunned second seed Aryna Sabalenka 7-6, 6-1.

In the men's draw, local hope Thanasi Kokkinakis came from behind to beat number four seed Frances Tiafoe 3-6, 7-5, 6-1.

Kokkinakis, who has been plagued by injuries since bursting onto the scene in 2015, won eight of the last nine games and broke Tiafoe's serve five times in the last two sets.

"To play in front of friends and family, and to be playing at home there's nothing better," Kokkinakis said on court post-match.

"To rally and play like that, and come back from what looked like it would be an ugly result is a really great feeling."

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