Sports
WORLD number one Ashleigh Barty took just 44 minutes and did not drop a game as she ended a year-long wait for Grand Slam tennis with a stunning win.
The Australian beat Danka Kovinic 6-0 6-0 in a ruthless display to reach the Australian Open second round.
Defending champion Sofia Kenin, however, made a nervous start and was in tears before a 7-5 6-4 win over Australian wildcard Maddison Inglis.
Meanwhile, former champion Victoria Azarenka was knocked out.
The Belarusian, who won the title in 2012 and 2013 and was a US Open finalist in September, seemed to struggle with her breathing and needed an inhaler in a 7-5 6-4 defeat by Jessica Pegula.
Barty ‘wanted to have fun’ on Grand Slam return
Barty’s last Grand Slam appearance was a semi-final here in January 2020 with the Australian missing much of last season because of the coronavirus pandemic.
She made a blistering return to the tour last week by winning the Yarra Valley Classic and there were ominous signs on Tuesday for her rivals that she is carrying on her good form.
Kovinic won just 10 points in the match as Barty fired 10 winners and five aces past the world number 76.
“It felt great to be here,” said Barty, who won the opening 16 points of the match. “I tried to stick to my process and routine but I just wanted to have fun.”
The 24-year-old will play either compatriot Daria Gavrilova or Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo next.
Tearful Kenin needs to ‘put emotions aside’
While Barty cruised into the second round, defending champion Kenin was unable to keep her emotions in check in her straight-set victory over world number 133 Inglis.
Despite the straightforward scoreline, Kenin struggled. She was broken twice in the first set to trail 3-1 before recovering and she later double-faulted on match point before making it over the line.
She admits to getting nervous before all her matches but said that having a title to defend had made it worse.
“I have to try to put my emotions aside for a match,” added Kenin, who faces Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi next.
“I have to somehow get better at that if I want to do well here.”
Two-time Australian champion Azarenka said her build-up was not ideal after she was confined to a hotel room for 14 days.
The 12th seed had played only one match since coming out of quarantine, having pulled out of a warm-up event last week with a lower-back issue.
She made a good start, racing to a 5-2 lead, before losing five games in a row and needing two medical timeouts in the second set as she looked uncomfortable and flushed.
Azarenka declined to discuss the medical issue after the match but said of her build-up: “Was that the best preparation for me? No.
“The biggest impact for me personally has been not being able to have fresh air. That really took a toll.
“I don’t know how to prepare after two weeks in quarantine. I don’t have a blueprint how to prepare. It’s all about trying to figure it out and I didn’t figure it out. Not this time.”
Who else went through on Tuesday?
Barty and Kenin are joined in the next round by Garbine Muguruza, last year’s beaten finalist, after the Spaniard’s comfortable 6-4 6-0 win over Margarita Gasparyan, while 11th seed Belinda Bencic and former semi-finalist Elise Mertens also advanced.
American 16-year-old Coco Gauff, who had a stunning run to the fourth round here last year, won her opener against Jil Teichmann 6-3 6-2 to set up a meeting with Ukrainian fifth seed Elina Svitolina, who beat Marie Bouzkova 6-3 7-6 (7-5).
Australian Sam Stosur won her first match at her home Slam since 2015, beating compatriot Destanee Aiava 6-4 6-4, while Czech sixth seed Karolina Pliskova saw off Italy’s Jasmine Paolini 6-0 6-2 in 51 minutes.
Mayar Sherif beat France’s Chloe Paquet 7-5 7-5 to become the first Egyptian woman to win a main draw match at a Grand Slam, and will next meet Kaja Juvan, who advanced when Britain’s Johanna Konta retired with injury.
BBC Sport
– Feb. 09, 2021 @ 13:17 GMT
Tags: Ashleigh Barty quickly advances but Sofia Kenin makes nervous start
