Halep becomes first major casualty INJURY-HIT MUGURUZA BATTLES INTO SECOND ROUND
MELBOURNE — Fourth seed Simona Halep was dumped from the Australian Open at the first hurdle for the second successive year Monday, having no answer to the power of American Shelby Rogers.
The out- of- sorts Romanian, who called for medical attention after losing the first set, went down 6-3, 6-1 on day one in hot conditions on Rod Laver Arena.
It was a case of deja vu for the right hander, who was sent packing at the same stage last year by Chinese qualifier Zhang Shuai.
Halep is one of the fastest movers on court but she was missing her usual zip against the 24-year-old American, who reached the French Open quarterfinals last year.
Rogers, in only her second Australian Open appearance, was ecstatic at claiming such a big scalp.
Playing the first match of the tournament on center court, Rogers held serve first up when Halep sent a backhand wide as both players adjusted to the conditions.
As sweat quickly started dripping off them, it went with serve to 2-2 in a close fought contest as Halep was forced to save two break points to stay at level pegging.
Rogers, coming off a run to the quarterfinals at the Hobart International, finally got the break in the sixth game to lead 4-2 when Halep smashed a volley into the net.
The sluggish Romanian saved two set points on her next service game but Rogers wasn’t to be denied and she wrapped up the set 6-3 in a grueling 46 minutes.
Rogers’ reward is a secondround clash against either Australian qualifier Ashleigh Barty or Germany’s Annika Beck. Big-hitting Spaniard Garbine Muguruza struggled with injury as she battled into the Au st ralian Open second round Monday with a straightsets win over New Zealand’s Marina Erakovic.
The French Open champion, seeded seven, needed a medical timeout after the first set for what appeared to be a foot problem before returning to win 7-5, 6-4 on Margaret Court Arena.
Muguruza announced her arrival as a major force with her shock straight-sets victory over Serena Williams in last year’s Roland Garros final, but consistency has been elusive.
She is yet to go beyond the fourth round at Melbourne Park but said ahead of the tournament she was learning to manage the pressure, and she had a good workout against Erakovic, ranked 110th.
She will next play American Samantha Crawford, who beat compatriot Lauren Davis 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.
VENUS REACHES ROUND TWO
Veteran campaigner Venus Williams dug deep to grind her way into the Australian Open second round Monday,
beating plucky Ukrainian youngster Kateryna Kozlova in two grueling sets.
The world number 17, who played her first Australian Open in 1998 and turned professional in 1994, the year her opponent was born, came through the near two-hour marathon 7-6 (7/5), 7-5.
The seven- time Grand Slam champion — the oldest woman in the draw and seeded 13 at Melbourne Park — battled back in a seesawing first set to take it to a tie breaker on Rod Laver Arena.
She narrowly got the upper hand to win it with an ace after a tough 67 minutes in hot conditions, pumping her fist in relief before wrapping herself in an ice towel at the changeover.
The second set was equally tight before Williams got a break to make it 6-5 then wrapped up the match, to the delight of the center court crowd.
She next faces either Swiss qualifier Stefanie Voegele or Japan’s Kurumi Nara.
NISHIKORI SURVIVES FIVE-SET DOGFIGHT
Japan’s big hope Kei Nishikori survived a grueling five- set examination in the first round to advance in scorching conditions at the Australian Open on Monday. The fifth seeded Nishikori came through a dogfight with 48th-ranked Russian Andrey Kuznetsov to win 5-7, 6-1, 6- 4, 6-7 (6/8), 6- 2 in 3hrs. and 34 mins. and maintain his unbeaten record in fiveset matches in Melbourne.
It was Nishikori’s fourth five-set win at the Australian Open, and set him up for a second- round encounter with Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.
Kuznetsov had Nishikori in trouble in the opening set, breaking him twice before serving out the set with his third set point.
But the Japanese star found his groove in the second set, reeling off a double break to level the set scores in 30 minutes.
Nishikori took command in the third set after Kuznetsov began to show the effects of the battle, noticeably limping between points.—