“Maybe there were some tears. Eyes were a little bit wet during the match. Obviously it’s emotional. I have to handle my emotions, let off some steam before the match. As the match went, luckily it was fine.
“Towards the end, you could see I got a little bit emotional as well. Standing at the net, ‘OK, don’t cry’.
“Obviously I don’t have any tricks because this is my first time experiencing this. I hope, obviously, that my emotions will somehow come down hopefully as the matches go. We’ll see. I cannot promise anything.”
Not since 2003, when Jennifer Capriati was beaten by Marlene Weingartner, has a women’s defending champion lost in the first round at Melbourne Park.