Oz Open delay an unwanted blessing: Serena
MELBOURNE: Serena Williams admitted on Monday that she might have been forced to skip the Australian Open if it hadn’t been delayed over Covid-19, saying she needed extra time to shake off the achilles injury which cut short her 2020 season.
Williams, who beat Daria Gavrilova 6-1, 6-4 in her Yarra Valley Classic opener in Melbourne, suffered the injury at last year’s US Open and then withdrew from the French Open before the second round, ending her 2020 campaign. But the 39-year-old, who will launch her latest attempt for a record-equalling 24th Slam title next week, got extra time to recover when the Open was postponed for three weeks over the pandemic.
“I couldn’t practice because of my achilles,” she told reporters. “I needed time. I don’t think I would have been here if it was during the regular season. (The delay) was an unwanted blessing. I definitely was pushing the limits, but I’m here.”
Meanwhile, second-ranked Simona Halep, the top-seeded player in the Gippsland Trophy, had a 6-4, 6-4 second-round win over Anastasia Potapova.
Coco Gauff was up a service break in the second set and appeared to be on the verge of victory in her first-round match before having to fend off Jil Teichmann 6-3, 6-7(6), 7-6(5).
Djokovic leads Serbia charge in ATP Cup
MELBOURNE: After a wildly successful debut in 2020, the ATP Cup kicks off in more subdued circumstances in Melbourne on Tuesday with Novak Djokovic looking to get champions Serbia off to a flying start against Canada in the truncated teambased event.
Last year’s tournament featured 24 nations and played to packed houses across the country, but the upcoming event has been reduced to 12 teams and all the action will be confined to Melbourne Park due to Covid-19 biosecurity measures. Crowd capacity for this year has been capped at 25%.
Rafael Nadal will headline the evening session at Rod Laver Arena when he takes on home hope Alex De Minaur, a year after overhauling the Australian 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 in the semi-finals.
Nagal begins season with defeat to Berankis
MELBOURNE: India’s Sumit Nagal began his 2021 season with an opening round defeat at the Murray River Open, losing in straight sets to Ricardas Berankis here on Monday in the run up to the Australian Open.
Nagal suffered a rather tame 2-6, 2-6 defeat in the ATP 250 tournament. The Indian, ranked 139 in singles, couldn’t convert his two break chances while dropping his serve four times in the match against the world No. 72 from Lithuania.