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.
Tennis star Nick Kyrgios is through to the second round of the Australian Open but not without an early controversy.
The Australian star currently ranked 47th in the world beat Portugal s Frederico Ferreira in straight sets on John Cain Arena, his favourite court at Melbourne Park on Monday night.
But it hadn t taken long for Kyrgios to spark controversy when he made an bizarre request to the entourage in his player s box early in the first set when he was down 2-0. Tell your girlfriend out of my box, a fired up Kyrgios ordered.
The box contained his father Giorgos, his sister Halimah, his brother Christos - and his brother s girlfriend, world champion bodybuilder Alicia Gowans.
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Australian Open boss Craig Tiley feared the tournamentâs grand slam status could have been at risk, leaving the door open for other countries to poach the event, if the Victorian government had bowed to pressure to cancel it.
The Open will get under way on Monday at Melbourne Park, which will be open to crowds of almost 50 per cent capacity each day, following a massive logistical effort to quarantine the players and their entourages.
Serena Williams on court in Melbourne on Friday.
Credit:AP
Tennis Australia and the Andrews government have also weathered a storm of criticism over the decision to allow tennis players into the country while Australians were stranded overseas, and from some players who objected to the harsh quarantine measures.
Auger-Aliassime needs 66 minutes for victory
Nick Kyrgios dug deep once again on his ATP Tour return on Wednesday to book his place in the Murray River Open third round.
Kyrgios, who had not played a tour-level event since February last year prior to competing in Melbourne, struck 10 aces and won 84 per cent of his first-service points in a 6-2, 7-6(7) victory over fellow Australian Harry Bourchier in 86 minutes.
The 25-year-old Kyrgios could not convert two match points at 6-5 on Bourchier’s serve in the second set, then saved three set points at 4/6 and 6/7 in the tie-break. Kyrgios will next play fourth-seeded Croatian Borna Coric, who was a 7-5, 6-4 victor over Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland.
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