SCHIAVONE BIDS ADIEU TO MELBOURNE
In front of a sparse crowd on Court 20, far from the main show courts reserved for other Grand Slam champions, Francesca Schiavone played her final match at the Australian Open. Schiavone, the 2010 French Open champion, announced before the tournament that she’d be retiring this year. The Italian veteran displayed the same fiery intensity that defined her career on Monday, but she was unable to get past American Julia Boserup, losing 6-2, 6-4. “When you win it’s a little bit different,” she said. “This tournament gave me a lot in the last 15 years. I leave (with) the fantastic moments.” A clay-court specialist, Schiavone didn’t have particular success at the Australian Open, reaching the quarterfinals just once and losing in the first round the last four years.