“I haven’t played in a long time, but I have been playing for 30 years so – I try to focus on that”, said Williams, who withdrew from the Hopman Cup earlier this month after playing just one set because of inflammation in her left knee.
Advertisement
Stephens reached the semifinals at the Australian Open in 2013.
Playing in 90-plus degree heat for one hour and 45 minutes, she beat 36th-ranked Camila Giorgi in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5.
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.
The American, 34, had been struggling with a left knee injury in the build-up, but came through unscathed.
“I think there is no room for it in any sport, especially in tennis”.
Kvitova next faces Daria Gavrilova on Wednesday for a place in the last 32 after Australia’s rising star ousted Czech Lucie Hradecka 7-6 (6-3) 6-4 in her opener.
The allegations, he said, related to matches from nearly 10 years ago and didn’t involve active players.
“It made me feel awful because I don’t want to be anyhow linked to this kind of you know, somebody may call it an opportunity”, he said. “But I think physically I was really good on the court”.
At a press conference Monday, Djokavic told reporters that he was approached indirectly through people who worked with him with an offer of $200,000 to throw a first-round match in a 2007 tournament in St. Petersburg. A report said top-50 players, including Grand Slam champions, had been suspected of match-fixing without facing action.
The tennis authorities vigorously denied suppressing match-fixing claims on Monday, after a bombshell report alleging widespread corruption cast a shadow over the start of the Australian Open.
Chris Kermode, chairman of men’s elite tour the ATP, hit back at suggestions that the sport’s chiefs had been lax on match-fixing.
Nigel Willerton, head of the Tennis Integrity Unit which was formed in 2008 as a joint initiative of the International Tennis Federation, the ATP, the WTA and the Grand Slam Board, says “it would be unprofessional for me to comment on if any players here are being monitored”.
The sixth seed scored a commanding 6-3 6-1 win over Thai qualifier Luksika Kumkhum in the opening match of the tournament at Rod Laver Arena.
American Noah Rubin scored perhaps the biggest surprise of the day, the world No. 328 into the tournament on a wild card and beating No. 17 seed Benoit Paire 7-6(4), 7-6(6), 7-6(5) for his first-ever Grand Slam win.
Sharapova was finished in 71 minutes Wednesday on Rod Laver Arena, the first match completed on day three after light rain caused delays on outside courts.
Novak Djokovic holds some good memories at the Australian Open, and the Serb plans on creating another one at the first Grand Slam event of this year.
Advertisement
Reports by the BBC and online BuzzFeed News emerged on Monday alleging 16 players ranked in the top 50 had been repeatedly flagged to the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) over suspicions they had thrown matches over the past decade.
