The 28-year-old played very much the elder statesman after the 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory, complimenting his 19-year-old opponent on his game but advising him to come back and try again when he had more experience.
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Novak Djokovic of Serbia makes a forehand return to Chung Hyeon of South Korea during their first round match at …
“Okay, I haven’t played in a long time, but I have been playing for 30 years…”
Williams, a 21-time grand slam champion, has had limited match practice due to knee inflammation during the Hopman Cup.
“Now I can breathe a little bit normally”, she said.
Djokovic added: “I know that there is also many betting companies that on the websites are using the names, the brands, images of tournaments and players and matches in order to profit from that”.
“I’m just thinking positive”.
“I just needed that time to just recover the best of my ability and get really fit… and really train and get ready for the season”.
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport John Whittingdale told BBC Radio 4’s Today show: “I hope that tennis will learn from the mistakes of others sports and investigate this very quickly and openly”.
“It’s an absolute pleasure to come back to Rod Laver Arena, it’s the most successful court in my career and there have been many memorable moments in the matches I’ve played here”, said five-times Australia Open champion Djokovic.
Williams, like Djokovic, won three of the four major titles last season, but hadn’t finished a competitive match for months.
Williams said she didn’t feel the knee problem at all during Monday’s match against No. 34-ranked Girorgi.
Whether or not her comments can be taken at face value, writing off Williams for whatever reason is a unsafe business and it would be no surprise at all if she swatted Giorgi aside as she embarks on her bid for a seventh singles title. “I think I served well today, ” Williams said.
Despite her lack of match practice, a focused Williams quickly got in her groove and carved out a decisive break with some powerful groundstrokes to grab a 2-1 advantage.
Konta, who rose from No. 150 a year ago to a current ranking of No. 47, never let the 35-year-old American into the match, winning it 6-4, 6-2 inside Rod Laver Arena.
World number one Serena Williams dispelled concerns she was struggling with a knee injury by digging deep to beat Camila Giorgi Monday in a testing start to her Australian Open campaign.
Bouchard is playing in only her fourth tournament since sustaining a concussion when she fell in the dressing room at last year’s U.S. Open. That’s no secret. I definitely played a good level and obviously it’s always nerve-wracking to be able to continue that. “But Kim will message my team if anything’s going on during the matches, and I’ll see what happens”.
Former No.1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki lost 1-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4 to Yulia Putintseva, continuing a downward spiral at Melbourne Park that has resulted in her exiting one round earlier each year since she reached the 2011 semifinals.
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Stephens lost 6-3 6-3 to Wang Qiang, while Schmiedlova was beaten by the same scoreline by Daria Kasatkina.
