Saturday Dec 14, 2024
Saturday Dec 14, 2024
Wednesday, 18 January 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Reuters: Serena Williams launched her bid for a 23rd grand slam title with a 6-4 6-3 win over Belinda Bencic at the Australian Open on Tuesday, swatting aside doubts over her fitness and motivation on a sweltering day at Melbourne Park.
The 35-year-old American came into the tie with two matches under her belt since the U.S. Open last September but moved superbly under a hot sun at Rod Laver Arena to rout the Swiss talent in 79 minutes.
Kept honest for most of the first set, Williams ramped up the pressure at 4-4 to win seven straight games before Bencic stalled her victory charge with a late rally.
Williams wobbled with a double-fault on match point but smashed a volley on her second to close it out and set up a second round clash against Czech Lucie Safarova.
Reuters: Rafa Nadal easily avoided the embarrassment of a back-to-back first round exits at the Australian Open on Tuesday, ramping up his serve and rattling off 39 winners to beat Florian Mayer 6-3 6-4 6-1 on Rod Laver Arena.
The 2009 champion, seeded ninth after a disappointing injury-disrupted 2016 season, grasped his chances ruthlessly to overcome the German in a little over two hours in the brutal afternoon heat at Melbourne Park.
A single break in each of the first two sets followed by some dominant serving was enough to give him a comfortable lead going into the third, which the Spaniard wrapped up with a 25th sizzling forehand winner.
The 14-times grand slam champion, who was watched by new coach Carlos Moya, moves on to a second round clash with Cyprus’s former Melbourne Park finalist Marcos Baghdatis.
Reuters: Britain’s growing hopes of a first women’s grand slam champion in 40 years moved a step closer on Tuesday when ninth seed Johanna Konta took out Kirsten Flipkins 7-5 6-2 in the blazing sun at Australian Open.
Konta came through the tricky opening-round encounter in reasonable shape after an hour and a half, with two breaks in the opening set and another couple in the second helping to keep her time on court to a minimum.
Belgian Flipkens, who turned 31 last week, did not give her an easy ride, however, mixing it up with a smorgasbord of shots to give the 25-year-old a proper workout under the open roof on Margaret Court Arena.
Australian-born Konta has had a fairytale last 12 months, soaring to world number nine after a surprise charge into the semis in Melbourne last year. Last week, she won a warm-up tournament in Sydney to bag a trophy from the city of her birth, fuelling hopes that she could bring Britain to its women’s glory since Virginia Wade’s 1977 Wimbledon triumph. She will next play Naomi Osaka, the 19-year-old Japanese ranked number 48 in the world.
MELBOURNE (Reuters): Novak Djokovic may have cursed the draw for throwing up Fernando Verdasco as the first opponent in his Australian Open defence on Tuesday but the tough match-up against the Spanish giant-killer ultimately proved a blessing in disguise.
The Serb launched his bid for a record seventh title at Melbourne Park with an impressive 6-1 7-6(4) 6-2 win over the man who knocked Rafa Nadal out in the first round of last year’s tournament. Djokovic was forced to save five match points to beat Verdasco at the recent Qatar Open and was broken twice during a thrilling second set under the lights of Rod Laver Arena.
