1 needed just 79 minutes to send the seven-time Grand Slam champion packing at the first round stage in Melbourne. The first serve was a weapon for the 21-time Grand Slam champion, who won 85 percent of her first-service points. “I would assume. She’s never mentioned anything about not being here, not competing”.
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Venus Williams has been knocked out of the first round 6-4, 6-2 by Britain’s Johanna Konta.
The 22-year-old Spaniard retired during her first match at an Australian Open warmup tournament in Brisbane because of an injured left foot earlier this month but showed no signs of difficulty at Melbourne Park.
Federer, playing his 65th consecutive major, advanced 6-3, 7-5, 6-1 over Alexandr Dolgopolov.
“It was a great match against Austin, we have known each other for a long time, so it wasn’t easy to play him, but he played well today”, Nishikori said.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga went to the aid of a ball girl in his match, gently helping her off the court in the third set when she became ill before finishing off a 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 win over Omar Jasika.
The fifth-seeded Sharapova won the 2008 Australian title and has lost three finals at Melbourne Park, including last year’s decider against Williams.
“I hope to keep it up as long as I choose to play tennis”, he said.
“It’s the least I expect to be in the third round of a Slam, obviously, so I’m pumped up, playing well, feeling good”, Federer said.
Williams was on course for a calendar-year Grand Slam in 2015 with wins here and at the French Open and Wimbledon before a semifinal loss at the U.S. Open to Roberta Vinci of Italy.
In the third round, Williams will take on Russian Daria Kasatkina and with so many early upsets in the women’s draw, she won’t face a seeded opponent until the quarterfinals at the earliest.
“You try to stay composed, not get carried away by heat, get distracted”, said the Serb, who was forced out of the 2009 quarter-finals as he struggled with the heat.
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No. 23 Svetlana Kuznetsova lost 6-1, 7-5 to Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine.
