Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka started their Australian Open campaign in style on Monday while former champion Angelique Kerber was knocked out in the first round by Bernarda Pera and Bianca Andreescu returned after 15 months away as the delayed Grand Slam finally got under way.
World No 3 Osaka scored an an easy 6-1, 6-2 victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in 68 minutes while an aggressive Serena Williams started her quest for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title by thrashing Laura Siegemund. Venus Williams also got past the first-round hurdle, beating Kirsten Flipkens 7-5, 6-2.
The 39-year-old Serena, playing an unparallelled 100th match at the tournament, looked sharp and smashed 16 winners in the 6-1, 6-1 romp in 56 minutes. “This was a good start, it was vintage Serena,” she said.
Williams, wearing a striking multi-coloured, one-legged catsuit, was broken in the opening game but hit back immediately and kept her foot on the pedal in a one-sided contest.
She showed no ill-effects of a shoulder injury that ruled her out of the semi-finals of the warm-up Yarra Valley Classic. Williams has also been battling a lingering Achilles injury first sustained at last year’s US Open, but has been in strong form so far in Melbourne.
The American, seeded 10th in her 20th Australian Open will play Serbia’s Nina Stojanovic in the second round.
Former US Open champion Andreescu burst into tears after a tough three-set victory over Mihaela Buzarnescu marked a much-anticipated return from a year-plus injury.
The eighth seed was forced to save three break points in the seventh game of the deciding set before prevailing 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 against the Romanian in two hours and two minutes. She capped her comeback in style with a 27th winner as she wiped away tears.
“It means a lot to win. It was all worth it. I never gave,” said the emotional Canadian. “I really do believe in my capabilities and I’m looking forward to my next match.”
Andreescu, 20, was set to make her comeback as top seed in the warm-up Grampians Trophy, but pulled out as a precautionary measure after spending 14 days in hard lockdown after arriving in Australia.
She had not played a competitive match since suffering a left knee injury at the WTA Finals in October 2019, halting her rapid rise after a stunning straights victory over Serena Williams in the final at Flushing Meadows that year.
She plays Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan in the second round.
To open the day, Japanese star Osaka faced a potentially tricky first-round contest against the world number 39.
“I was really nervous coming into this match. I just wanted to play well,” Osaka, who hit 18 winners, told a smattering of spectators on Rod Laver Arena.
The 23-year-old, seeded three in Melbourne Park, looked physically strong having withdrawn from the warm-up Gippsland Trophy in the semi-finals, blaming a long-standing shoulder problem.
Osaka, whose flashy attire included leggings and pink shoes, skirt and wristbands, won the first four games and continued the momentum as she relentlessly worked Pavlyuchenkova around the court with powerful groundstrokes.
The three-time Grand Slam winner stretched her streak to 15 matches unbeaten – including the US Open final – dating back 12 months.
Osaka, who won the 2019 Australian Open, plays former top 10 player Caroline Garcia of France or Slovenia’s Polona Hercog in the second round.
However, three-time Grand Slam champion Kerber crashed out with a heavy 6-0, 6-4 defeat to Bernarda Pera, in the first upset of the tournament.
The 2016 Australian Open winner, seeded 23 at Melbourne Park, was in disarray as she succumbed in just one hour and 10 minutes against American Pera, ranked 63.
“I knew I had a tough opponent but I was ready for it,” said Pera, who has never made it past the third round of a Slam.
The German, who had 25 unforced errors and seven double faults, lost the first nine games as she faced the humiliating prospect of a 6-0, 6-0 ‘double bagel’ before her attempts at a comeback were thwarted by the 26-year-old.
An out-of-sorts Kerber made the quarter-finals of the warm-up Grampians Trophy in Melbourne, organised for players forced into a hard 14-day quarantine on their arrival in Australia.
It was the second consecutive first-round Grand Slam defeats for Kerber, who lost to Kaja Juvan in the French Open.
Pera plays Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan in the second round.
Halep eases injury fears in straight-sets win
A fit and firing Simona Halep started her bid for a first Australian Open title with an easy victory over local wildcard Lizette Cabrera. The second seed required strapping and was hampered by a lower back injury in the warm-up Gippsland Trophy, but moved with ease in the 6-2, 6-1 romp in 59 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
“I feel good, my body is fit,” said the Romanian, who hit 14 winners. “It feels great to be back in Melbourne.”
Halep, whose seven-year streak in the top 10 is the longest active run among women, broke serve in the opening game and then overwhelmed 23-year-old Cabrera, who has been unable to win a match at her home Slam in four attempts.
Halep, 29, is seeking a maiden triumph at Melbourne Park having fallen short to Caroline Wozniacki in the 2018 decider.
She was left stunned last year after a straight-sets loss to Garbine Muguruza in the semi-finals.
Halep, a two-time Grand Slam winner, will once again be out to dash Australian hopes when she mets Ajla Tomljanovic in the second round on Wednesday.
Results
Women’s singles first round
Bianca Andreescu (CAN x8) bt Mihaela Buzarnescu (ROM) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
Hsieh Su-wei (TPE) bt Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) 7-5, 6-2
Venus Williams (USA) bt Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) 7-5, 6-2
Sara Errani (ITA) bt Qiang Wang (CHN x30) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
Marketa Vondrousova (CZE x19) bt Rebecca Peterson (SWE) 2-6, 7-5, 7-5
Rebecca Marino (CAN) bt Kimberly Birrell (AUS) 6-0, 7-6 (11/9)
Sorana Cirstea (ROM) bt Patricia Tig (ROM) 6-2, 6-1
Petra Kvitova (CZE x9) bt Greet Minnen (BEL) 6-3, 6-4
Zarina Diyas (KAZ) bt Tamara Zidansek (SLO) 6-2, 7-5
Bernarda Pera (USA) bt Angelique Kerber (GER x23) 6-0, 6-4
Ons Jabeur (TUN x27) bt Andrea Petkovic (GER) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (SVK) bt Mayo Hibi (JPN) 7-6 (7/2), 6-4
Caroline Garcia (FRA) bt Polona Hercog (SLO) 7-6 (8/6), 6-3
Naomi Osaka (JPN x3) bt Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) 6-1, 6-2
Aryna Sabalenka (BLR x7) bt Viktoria Kuzmova (SVK) 6-0, 6-4
Darya Kasatkina (RUS) bt Katie Boulter (GBR) 6-1, 6-4
Alize Cornet (FRA) bt Valeria Savinykh (RUS) 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (10/7)
Anastasia Potapova (RUS) bt Alison Riske (USA x24) 6-2, 6-1
Timea Babos (HUN) bt Ysaline Bonaventure (BEL) 7-6 (7/0), 6-4
Nina Stojanovic (SRB) bt Irina Begu (ROM) 6-3, 6-4
Serena Williams (USA x10) bt Laura Siegemund (GER) 6-1, 6-1
Iga Swiatek (POL x15) bt Arantxa Rus (NED) 6-1, 6-3
Camila Giorgi (ITA) bt Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) 6-3, 6-3
Fiona Ferro (FRA) bt Katerina Siniaková (CZE) 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-4
Elena Rybakina (KAZ x17) bt Vera Zvonareva (RUS) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
Veronika Kudermetova (RUS x32) bt Marta Kostyuk (UKR) 6-2, 7-6 (7/5)
Varvara Gracheva (RUS) bt Anna Blinkova (RUS) 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (10/7)
Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS) bt Misaki Doi (JPN) 6-2, 6-1
Simona Halep (ROM x2) bt Lizette Cabrera (AUS) 6-2, 6-1
With AFP Inputs
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