Naomi Osaka breezed through the first round of the Australian Open on Monday.
The Japanese third seed beat Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1, 6-2 in just one hour and eight minutes. Thank you everyone for coming. I m just really happy to see people in the stands, she said after.
Naomi Osaka breezed through the first round of the Australian Open on Monday beating Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in just one hour and eight minutes, before saying she is just grateful she s playing in front of fans again.
The Japanese third seed flew out of the traps at the Rod Laver Arena to take the first set 6-1 in 33 minutes, dominating on her serve in what was the first match of the tournament and her first Grand Slam match since victory in the US Open in September 2020.
12:45 p.m.
Sofia Kenin’s Australian Open title defense got off to a bit of a rocky start before she righted herself and pulled out a two-set win.
The 22-year-old American trailed by an early break and took about 45 minutes to actually wrest some semblance of control before eventually beating 133rd-ranked Australian wild-card entry Maddison Inglis 7-5, 6-4.
Inglis never has won a tour-level match, falling to 0-6.
But she did not make things easy on Kenin, who nevertheless managed to avoid becoming the first woman since Jennifer Capriati in 2003 to lose in the first round at the Australian Open a year after winning the championship.
Kenin edges through, ailing Azarenka stunned at Australian Open parisguardian.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from parisguardian.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Tennis fans were out enjoying a perfect Australian Open day in the sun.(Nine)
As well as all the standard tennis merchandise this year, you can also buy an Australian Open mask - which may become a collector s item and unnecessary next year.
Tonight, all eyes will be on Ash Barty as she takes centre court.
For those keen to head courtside - John Cain arena tickets are $49 weekdays and $59 weekends, the same price as a ground pass last year.
READ MORE:
Crowds were treated to an array of tennis superstars.(Nine)
Novak Djokovic of Serbia watches the Men s Singles first round match between Filip Krajinovic of Serbia and Robin Haase of the Netherlands.(Getty)