Williams made a bright start, in a way, holding up one finger and twirling in her yellow outfit to celebrate her 6-4, 7-5 over Camila Giorgi.
Advertisement
In reports published before the tournament, the BBC and BuzzFeed News said secret files exposed evidence of widespread suspected match-fixing at the top level of tennis, with Grand Slam winners among a core group of 16 players that tennis officials repeatedly had been warned about for suspicious behavior.
“When the draw came out and I saw who I was playing I was like ‘Well, ok, I just hope to stay out there more than an hour, ‘” Konta said in a post-match TV interview, apparently as surprised as anyone after her straight sets win over the No. 8-seeded Williams.
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”.
Williams, 35, struggled in her service games, winning 52 percent of her service points – only 53 percent of first-serve points.
“Even if she’s playing with one leg out there, you’ve got to really take care of things on your own because she’s an incredible player”.
“[The knee is] great”.
“Now I can breathe a little bit normally”, she said.
Pressed on the presence of global betting companies as main sponsors at grand slams and whether he felt uncomfortable, Djokovic added: “I think, today and in the future”.
Despite her lack of match practice, a focused Williams quickly got into the groove and carved out a decisive break with some powerful groundstrokes to grab a 2-1 advantage.
“I don’t know about other players, but for myself, I really loved to play against Serena because it was a real challenge for myself”, said the popular Li, who retired in 2014 to settle down and have children. “I feel good. Feeling excited”, the former No. 1-ranked Azarenka said.
Her fellow 34-year-old Roger Federer, 17-times a grand slam victor, takes centre stage in the evening session on Rod Laver Arena as he embarks on his quest for a fifth Melbourne Park crown against Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Eighth seed Venus Williams has provided Australian Open fans with the shock of the tournament so far after she was shocked on Tuesday by world No. 47, rising British star Johanna Konta, who was making her Australian Open debut.
“I think it’s going to be very tough, to be honest”, Federer said.
The sixth seed Petra Kvitova is also safely through to the second round after she cruised past Thailand’s Luksika Kumkhum 6-3, 6-1, but Caroline Wozniacki and Sloane Stephens both crashed out.
Williams, who next faces 90th-ranked Taiwanese Hsieh Su-Wei, said the break from the game helped her a lot. The top seed had to work for his victory but won 6-3 6-2 6-4.
Novak Djokovic cruised through the opening round by defeating South Korea’s Hyeon Chung 6-3 6-2 6-4.
Advertisement
Meanwhile, Wimbledon finalist Garbine Muguruza needed only an hour to advance through the first round, beating No. 85-ranked Anett Kontaveit 6-0, 6-4 on day two.
