1. SERENA WILLIAMS
There were feewer than 1,000 fans inside Rod Laver Arena when Williams took to the court at lunchtime but the 23-time grand slam champion was unfazed. Sporting a striking pink, orange and black ensemble she dropped her first service game before asserting her authority and taking the next 10 games against the German Siegemund to win in just 56 minutes.
It was an ideal easing into the Open for Williams who looked a step or two off peak match fitness but powered to a routine win from the baseline. The entertainment came post match in the obligatory on-court chat when Williams was given a microphone that towered above her, causing her to arch her head up and back in a Liam Gallagher type stance.
Answering the key questions after Bernard Tomic’s spectacular fall from grace
Tennis by Will Swanton, Scott Gullan 1st Feb 2021 5:20 AM
Premium Content I cannot shake the thought that Bernie Tomic is the saddest story in Australian sport. Celebrities get asked a corny old question all the time. What would you tell your teenage self? As Tomic emerges from his hotel, blinks at the Melbourne sun and prepares for his first match of the summer on Monday, a penny for the opposite interaction between young and older. What would the starry-eyed 14-year-old Tomic say to the world-weary 28-year-old version? Probably something along the lines of, bloody hell, old mate, what happened?