Djokovic hopes to add in his record another Grand Slam title when he opens his 2016 Australian Open campaign against Hyeon Chung of South Korea on Monday. It didn’t even get to me, the guy that was trying to talk to me, he didn’t even get to me directly.
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But as the sun shone and more than 70 000 fans streamed through the gates at Melbourne Park, the great and the good of tennis officialdom filed into a room in the bowels of Rod Laver Arena to defend their record on battling corruption.
Despite being the undisputed top-ranked player in the world, there are plenty of doubts about Williams and many experts have picked her to be upset in this first Grand Slam major of the year.
“I have been going non-stop since the London Olympics, and seeing that this is another Olympic year, I kind of wanted to start the year out really fresh and really go at it again as hard as I can”, Williams said.
Joining Djokovic in the second round of the men’s competition is 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer as the Swiss inflicted a 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 demolition on Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili in one hour and 12 minutes. The canny world number 35 reached the Australian Open quarter-finals in 2011.
“But, you know, I always have been taught and have been surrounded with people that had nurtured and, you know, respected the sport’s values”.
“I think it’s irrelevant how old she is because she’s such a champion with so much experience and so much knowledge about the game”.
Showing no discomfort from the swollen knee which forced her out of this month’s Hopman Cup mixed-team tournament, Williams toughed it out 6-4, 7-5 against Italy’s Camila Giorgi.
“It’s great. It was an hour and 45 minutes and I didn’t feel it at all”, she said.
No. 5 Maria Sharpova, who lost to Williams in last year’s final, breezed through her first-round match 6-1, 6-3 against Nao Hibino of Japan.
But Konta held her nerve to secure a famous victory over the former world number one.
Wearing a canary yellow pleated skirt and matching midriff-baring shirt, displaying her pierced navel, Williams was composed but not her usual clinical self during the draining workout.
On the men’s side, sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych, a semifinalist previous year, opened his 50th consecutive major by beating Yuki Bhambri 7-5, 6-1, 6-2, and No. 7 Kei Nishikori had a 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 win over Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Sloane Stephens, the 24th seed, also suffered disappointment as she lost out to Chinese qualifier Wang Qiang 6-3 6-3.
Spain’s Carla Suarez earned applause when she helped a ballboy from the court as he swooned in high temperatures during her win over Viktorija Golubic.
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“I tried to keep my emotions inside and imagined I’m losing”, she said.
