The world No. 1 by a wide margin, Djokovic was focused from the opening point in a deliberate 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 first-round win over Hyeon Chung on Monday at the Australian Open. He can handle all kinds of weather and court surfaces now, evidenced by his 2015 season when he lost only one match at Grand Slams – the French Open final.
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That means she likely also doesn’t know that she could face former No. 1 and close friend Caroline Wozniacki in the fourth round and No. 5 Sharapova in the quarterfinals. The third-seeded Swiss will open his 2016 Australian Open campaign against Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia in the first match of the evening session at Rod Laver Arena.
All players are required to attend press conferences after grand slam and tour-sanctioned matches, with the maximum penalty for not doing so set at $20,000 (£14,000).
Serena Williams of the United States serves in her first-round match against Camila Giorgi of Italy.
“I managed to play the best tennis when I needed to”.
Her only loss in a Grand Slam tournament last year came in the semifinals of the U.S. Open, snapping her string of four-straight Grand Slam wins, preventing the only calendar-year slam since Steffi Graf in 1988. “I just want to make sure I’m prepared as best as I can”.
“I’ve been preparing well, taking some time to really work on certain things, get a good foundation and a good base for the long season that includes the Olympic Games, which of course is one of the top priorities for me and many other players”.
“It was an hour and 43 minutes and I didn’t feel it at all”.
Djokovic’s bid for a sixth Australian Open title started in temperatures of 34 Celsius (93 Fahrenheit), and he became annoyed with himself and his play at times, including three double-faults.
Muguruza, who shot up the rankings in 2015 with a run to the Wimbledon final, isn’t among those who think the swathe of injuries to leading players this month – most of the top 10 skipped matches with various ailments – will necessarily make it easier for somebody to sneak up on No. 1-ranked Williams.
Nishikori has a good recent record at Melbourne Park, having advanced to at least the last 16 in each of the past four years. “I was able to stay in it and stay calm today and I think that’s what matters most”. Unlike Williams, she does look further ahead in the draw -even if she doesn’t mention names.
“I had a great off-season with fitness and tennis preparation and when I got to China I got some stomach virus or something and I was just laying and going quite often to the toilet for eight to nine days”, Kvitova said.
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No. 13 Vinci beat Irina Falconi 6-2, 6-3 to advance in the opposite quarter of the same half of the draw.
