Williams, who hadn’t completed a competitive match since her bid for a calendar-year Grand Slam in 2015 ended in semifinal defeat at the US Open, was on court warming up when tennis authorities held a joint news conference at Melbourne Park to refute reports from the BBC and Buzzfeed News that match-fixing had gone unchecked in tennis.
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In a midriff-baring yellow outfit, Williams was made to work for her victory by Italian Camila Giorgi but she finally prevailed 6-4 7-5.
The 21-time Grand Slam victor doesn’t like to dwell on weaknesses and did not want to discuss the inflammation in her left knee that forced her to withdraw from her season opener at the Hopman Cup.
The two dominant players of past year, Djokovic and Williams are no strangers to the heat of the Australian summer, of course, but sweltering conditions might help expose any flaws in their early season form or fitness.
Sixth seed Petra Kvitova was the first player to win a match, beating Thailand’s Luksika Kumkhum 6-3 6-1. Williams will play Su-Wei Hsieh in the second round as Hsieh overcame Jelena Ostapenko in three sets of 3-6 7-5 and 6-1.
“If that’s going on, I don’t know about it. I’m kind of sometimes in a little bit of a bubble”.
No. 24 Sloane Stephens, who beat Serena Williams in the 2013 Australian Open quarterfinals, went out in a 6-3, 6-3 loss to Chinese qualifier Wang Qiang.
Williams, though, showed no signs of discomfort during a 6-4 7-5 win over Giorgi on Monday.
A second Australian Open title for Nadal appears a stretch after his slump in 2015, but Wawrinka, champion in 2014, should be a contender after he beat Djokovic in last year’s French Open final.
Her three Grand Slam titles previous year in Australia and at Roland Garros and Wimbledon took her within one of Graf’s long-time record of 22.
The 16th-seeded Wozniacki was up a service break in the second set.
But 36th-ranked Giorgi, a slightly built player packing a meaty forehand, steadied herself to drag Williams into a baseline battle and the American’s screams of frustration underlined the growing tension as the match progressed.
The reports said that none of the players, who aren’t identified by name, had faced any sanctions and more than half would be playing at this year’s Australian Open.
A number of players competing at the Australian Open in Melbourne have been responding to the revelations.
World tennis number one Novak Djokovic said a member of his staff was approached about fixing a match early in his career, and he questioned whether betting companies should be allowed to sponsor big tennis tournaments.
Djokovic hit 40 winners and served 10 aces as he turned up the pressure, according to AusOpen.com, winning 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. And he’s one of the players that people are talking about as a potential top player in the future.
Wearing a canary yellow pleated skirt and matching midriff-baring shirt, displaying her pierced navel, Williams was composed but not her usual clinical self during the draining workout.
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Meanwhile, Federer will continue his chase for his 18th Grand Slam title.
