“I don’t think the shadow is cast over our sport”, he said. “I would love to hear names, then at least it’s concrete stuff and you can actually debate about it. Was it the player?” I don’t really understand how it all works. “I just had no idea it would blow up like that”.
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It solidifies her position as Britain’s number one and, although coming against an out-of-sorts Williams, the win was built on a mixture of devastating groundstrokes and impressive defence.
“I played two previous tournaments (this year) and I didn’t have the results I wanted but I have a very strong belief”.
“I’m very satisfied with how I dealt with the situation”. He’s got his teeth protected, though, just in case.
The fifth-seeded Maria Sharapova, who pulled out of the Brisbane International two weeks ago with a left forearm injury, eased to a 6-1, 6-3 win over Nao Hibino.
“It just causes stress and headaches”, he said after the match.
“Of course, there were some long rallies, long exchanges that got both of us a little bit short on air but I think physically I was really good on the court. Maybe it’s helping my back”.
Serena Williams showed no signs of a knee injury as she overcame Camila Giorgi in the Australian Open first round. Murray saved all six break points he faced. “He hung in until the end, made it tough and fought hard”.
“Okay, I haven’t played in a long time, but I have been playing for 30 years, so it’s kind of – I try to focus on that”.
Now 18th in the world, Wozniacki was beaten 1-6 7-6 6-4 by a player 58 places below her in the rankings.
Venus Williams’ opening-round loss to Johanna Konta at the Australian Open was especially disappointing given her resurgent 2015 campaign.
It was the eighth time she has lost in the first round of a Grand Slam tournament and the third in Australia, where she reached the quarterfinals in her first appearance in 1998 and lost the final to her youngest sister, Serena, in 2003.
“When the draw came out, I just hoped to stay out there more than an hour”, said Konta.
In 2016, she’s 0-2 after also losing in a warmup tournament at Auckland, New Zealand.
Djokovic started his bid for a sixth Australian Open title with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win over Chung Hyeon of South Korea on Monday, hours after the BBC and Buzzfeed News published reports alleging match-fixing had gone unchecked.
Asked if she would do it again, Williams said, “Oh, God, no. I reacted and I didn’t think”. “I tried to keep my emotions inside and imagine that I was losing!” That’s no secret. I definitely played a good level and obviously it’s always nerve-wracking to be able to continue that.
The 16th seed was put to the sword in three sets by Yulia Putintseva, marking her first-ever opening-round loss at Melbourne Park.
But Davenport couldn’t travel fulltime with Keys because of her family and commentating responsibilities, so Keys is now working with former ATP player Jesse Levine. Also advancing were No. 10 Carla Suarez Navarro, No. 12 Belinda Bencic, No. 13.
Konta could face China’s No. 1 ranked player Zheng Saisai in the second round; Zheng faces German Carina Witthoelt later on Tuesday.
Sadly, though, two of those have come in the past three years for the former world No.1.
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This was Williams’ first competitive match since those Calendar Slam hopes were so dramatically ended by her defeat at the hands of Roberta Vinci in the semi-finals of the US Open in September.
