Venus, Ostapenko make winning starts in Australia
MELBOURNE: Ageless Venus Williams opened her 2021 season with a 6-1, 6-3 thrashing of Arantxa Rus Sunday, while former top 10 players Jelena Ostapenko and Caroline Garcia also scored wins. Williams, 40, showed few signs of having spent 14 days in quarantine in her first-round romp at the Yarra Valley Classic, grinding down her Dutch opponent in 65 minutes -- an amazing 27 years after making her professional debut.
The tournament is one of two WTA events being played concurrently at Melbourne Park as players prepare for the Australian Open Grand Slam starting on February 8.
Former Australian Open semi-finalist Danielle Collins needed 75 minutes to secure her first victory of the year, a 6-3, 6-3 triumph over Belgian Ysaline Bonaventure in the same event. Collins is back at the site of her best career major run, which saw her upset former champion Angelique Kerber en route to reaching the final four in 2019.
American Shelby Rogers also progressed, thanks to a 6-2, 7-5 win over No.12 seed Fiona Ferro, the first ranked player to fall, while Anastasija Sevastova proved too strong for Madison Brengle. In a battle between former top five players, 2017 French Open champion Ostapenko triumphed over Sara
Errani 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the first round of the Gippsland Trophy, charging back after losing the first set. Former world No.4 Caroline Garcia of France also got her season on a positive note, ousting Australian wildcard Arina Rodionova, 6-3, 6-4.
“It was a lot of emotions to get back on court,” said Garcia. Other first-round Gippsland Trophy winners included former top 10 player Daria Kasatina of Russia and Kaia Kanepi of Estonia.
Osaka commits to Games
Japanese sensation Naomi Osaka on Sunday said she was committed to competing in the delayed Tokyo Olympics, but believed public approval was crucial for the Games to go ahead this year. Organisers are still adamant the Olympics can be held safely even if the coronavirus is not under control by the time the flame is lit on July 23.
The three-time Grand Slam champion admitted being worried by a recent poll that found 80 percent of the Japanese public were opposed to Tokyo hosting the event this year because of the pandemic. “My concern would be the general safety of everyone else because you’re opening the country,” Osaka said. “Everyone is flying in from different places. I would just want the public to feel safe.”
The 23-year-old has been the poster girl of the 2020 Olympics and still hopes to represent Japan at her home Games.