Sharapova back with a win
IT WASN’T Maria Sharapova’s choice to miss the last Australian Open. That decision was taken out of her hands because of a doping ban following a failed test on her previous visit to Melbourne Park.
The five-time major champion said it was her choice to return, though, and she relished every moment of it in yesterday’s 6-1, 6-4 victory over Tatjana Maria.
“With that choice I know that I face difficulties and challenges on the court, and that I start from no ranking and that I might start on some outside courts, and I understand that and that’s part of the process,” said Sharapova, who was a contentious choice to represent the women’s champions last week at the official draw.
She was banned for 15 months after testing positive for meldonium, not long after the medication was added to the list of banned substances, when she was in Australia in 2016.
There were all kinds of comebacks yesterday. Six-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic and 2014 winner Stan Wawrinka returned from injuries that had sidelined them since Wimbledon, top-ranked Simona Halep recovered from 5-2 down in her first set and a tumble in the second, and 2016 champion Angelique Kerber continued her amazing return to form.
Defending champion Roger Federer just picked up where he left off, beating Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 6-4, 63 in a night match, his first on Rod Laver Arena since clinching a careerreviving title in Melbourne last year.
Dokovic tweaked his service motion while recovering from an injured right elbow, and used it to good effect in a 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 win over Donald Young.
Wawrinka, who had six months out after surgery on his left knee, beat Ricardas Berankis 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (2).
Halep ended a run of back-toback first-round exits in Melbourne by beating teenage wild-card entry Destanee Aiava 7-6 (5), 6-1, setting up a match against 2014 Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard. Former No. 1-ranked Kerber, the 2016 Australian Open champion, continued her resurgent run with a 6-0, 6-4 victory over Anna-Lena Friedsam to extend her streak to 10 consecutive wins.