Djokovic made to stretch amid showers Teen Coco pips veteran Venus again for Wimbledon encore
Defending champ taken to four sets by Struff; easy for Federer, Serena, Osaka
MELBOURNE:NOVAK Djokovic dug deep to join Roger Federer and Serena Williams in the Australian Open second round as heavy downpours caused chaos on Monday, forcing organisers to postpone a swathe of matches.
Defending champion Djokovic was made to sweat before beating Germany’s Jan-lennard Struff in four sets on the first day, when fears over air pollution were replaced by disruption caused by rain.
While play continued at the three stadiums with retractable roofs, half of the 64 scheduled matches were postponed, ensuring a big backlog for Tuesday. Wet conditions are unusual for the Australian Open, which is more used to extreme heat and was plagued by smog from bushfires during qualifying, when players suffered coughing fits and breathing problems.
Air quality was rated ‘good’ as the first round started on Monday but about four hours later play was suspended on outside courts when heavens opened.
Djokovic dropped his first set since 2006 in the first round at Melbourne Park before recovering to beat Jan-lennard Struff 7-6(5), 6-2, 2-6, 6-1. “I like tough first rounds—in Grand Slams, particularly, because it gets me going. From the beginning, I have to be alert,” Djokovic said.
The second seed came into the tournament after leading Serbia to the ATP Cup title in Sydney, winning all six of his singles matches. But he didn’t have it all his own way against the world No 37 Struff.
He ground through a series of long rallies before breaking his opponent in the fifth game of the opening set and seemed to be cruising. But the German saved a set point in the eighth and then broke Djokovic in the ninth to take the set into a tie-break, where the Serb dug deep when it mattered most to come out on top. He broke Struff in his opening game of the second set and then put his foot on the gas.
But it didn’t last long with the plucky German refusing to give up and the Serbian making uncharacteristic errors in a horror third set. Djokovic was broken to love to go 2-0 down and while he broke back for 2-3, Struff broke twice more with a Djokovic double fault sending the match into a fourth set. The world No 2 didn’t make any more mistakes, keeping his focus to get over the finish line.
FEDERER SHOWS NO SIGNS OF RUST
Federer, on the other hand, swatted aside Steve Johnson 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 to race into the second round, kickstarting his bid for a 21st Grand Slam title in style.
Federer said ahead of the tournament that he had low expectations after missing the ATP Cup to spend more time with his family. It left him short of match practice, but it didn’t show against the American.
“I think for me really the first three rounds are key to get going, to get used to the pressure, stay calm, when to save breakpoint or 30-all points or whatever it may be,” he said. “This is sort of the unknown that can be a little bit scary at times. But today there was none of that because I broke early each set and was able to get on a roll, play freely after that.”
Williams, on the hunt for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title, won the first set against Anastasia Potapova in just 19 minutes as she cruised to a 6-0, 6-3 win in less than an hour.
“I feel like I can still improve and get better throughout this tournament, for sure. This is a good stepping stone for right now,” Williams said.
TOP-RANKED BARTY RALLIES TO WIN
In the evening session, Australian world No 1 Ashleigh Barty recovered strongly from a set down to beat Lesia Tsurenko 5-7,
6-1, 6-1. Barty was coming into the match with just a day’s gap after winning the WTA Adelaide International title.
“It’s all good,” she beamed to the relieved Rod Laver Arena crowd after the match. “It’s amazing to be out here. Obviously, a tight turnaround after Adelaide but I sharpened up at the start of the second set and did what I needed to do.”
Elsewhere, defending champion Naomi Osaka dismissed Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-4 in 80 minutes, smashing one powerful serve that broke a net fastening. In the men’s draw, Greek sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who beat Federer en route to last year’s semis, crushed Salvatore Caruso 6-0, 6-2, 6-3.
MELBOURNE: Everyone had the same question when the Australian Open draw was revealed: What were the odds that Coco Gauff and Venus Williams would face each other again in the first round at a Grand Slam?
“I was a bit shocked,” Gauff said, “I’m sure everyone was a bit shocked.”
Gauff, 15, played Williams, 39, to begin her first appearance in the main draw at Melbourne Park, just like they matched up to start things off at Wimbledon about six months ago.
And, just like at the All England Club, the youngest woman in the field got the better of the oldest woman in the field, with Gauff beating Williams 7-6(5), 6-3 on Monday.
“I definitely was more confident this time. I think I was used to playing on big courts, so the crowd, I guess the size of the crowd didn’t startle me as much as last time,” Gauff said. “Definitely a bit more positive coming into this match.”
It was the one of most anticipated contests of the opening day at the first Grand Slam of the decade, and it did not disappoint. The first set, in particular, was intriguing, with Gauff repeatedly pulling ahead, only to have Williams—who already had won four of her seven Grand Slam singles trophies by the time her foe was born—rebuff her.
It wasn’t until her fourth set point that Gauff finally pulled it out. She quickly grabbed a 3-0 lead in the second and never let that edge go.
Gauff already has demonstrated all sorts of terrific qualities on a tennis court, from her big, gutsy serves to an ability to track down opponents’ shots. Now you can add stick-to-it-iveness to the list.