You’re not smart Alex raps Kyrgios
Brave Harriet flying flag for Britain as Konta, Edmund, Boulter and Norrie all crash It’s up there with the best displays of my career
CHRIS EVERT says Maria Sharapova is finished after the Russian lost her third consecutive Grand Slam first-round match to plunge to world No 366.
The 2008 champion herself admitted she may have made her final appearance at the Australian Open.
Sharapova’s career stalled due to a shoulder injury and a 15-month suspension for doping after she tested positive for meldonium here in 2016.
The five-time Grand Slam champion was invited to Melbourne Park on a wildcard but lost 6-3, 6-4 to Croatia’s No 19 seed Donna Vekic.
Jo Konta had led the early retreat when the No 12 seed suffered the biggest upset so far against world No 78 Ons Jabeur.
And she was followed home by Kyle Edmund, Katie Boulter and Cam Norrie.
But British No3 Dart avoided a total British wipeout on day two despite losing eight straight games – and blowing her first two match points – before bravely beating Misaki Doi 2-6, 6-4, 7-6.
Dart finished strongly by winning nine of the final 10 points in the third-set tiebreak after being 5-1 down against the world No 82.
And the 23-year-old took her third match point at 10.59pm local time – over 12 hours after Konta had taken to the court.
Dart said: “It’s up there with the best performances of my career – I was just relieved to get the win in the end. I am proud the way I was able to keep my composure and get over the line.
“It was crazy finish, especially playing a 10-point tie-breaker. It’s the first time I have done that, I had to double check with the chair umpire.”
The world No 164 had suffered a humiliating double bagel against Maria Sharapova in the first round here last year.
“It is good to get that one out of the way and win my first Grand Slam match
The Russian has not won a match since August and has won only three times since reaching the fourth round here last year.
“I don’t think she can get back to the top,” said former world No 1 Evert. “Her shoulder has a lot of wear and tear and has never been the same since the first surgery.
“At 32, she has had an illustrious career. She has been playing since she was 15. And she wants to have a life too. She is a well-rounded person. She went to classes at Harvard business school. She’s business-minded. There are other
aoutside Wimbledon,” Dart said. “Halep’s an incredible champion and it is a great opportunity to see where my game is. I think in the last year I have really learned from playing big matches on big courts.”
Konta confessed she was too rusty for a Grand Slam after losing for the first time in the opening round of the Australian Open.
The GB No1 had only played and lost one match since the US Open because of tendonitis in her right knee and she went down 6-4, 6-2 in only 63 minutes.
“Definitely the lack of matches was a factor,” said the 2016 semi-finalist here.
“It’s always difficult to come back after not playing a certain amount of time. But what was good today was my knee felt quite good.”
Edmund led 5-2 overnight against No24 seed Dusan Lajovic but lost 7-6, 6-3, 7-6. He has now exited the first round twice since he made the 2018 semis.
“I have definitely been unlucky physically,” said Edmund. “Ultimately, it’s a win-loss business.”
Boulter put up a fight against Elina Svitolina but lost the big points as she went down 6-4, 7-5 in her first Grand Slam for a year.
Boulter, who has been out with a back injury, said: “I feel I would have a really good chance against her later in the season.”
British No3 Norrie took only five of 16 break points against Frenchman PierreHugues Herbert, losing 7-5, 3-6, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4.
“It was tough – I was in complete control,” he said. things she wants to do. When Maria retires, there are not going to be any fanfares as far as she’s concerned. She will slip off into the night. She’s not an attention-grabber.”
Asked if she will return in 2021, Sharapova said: “I don’t know. I was fortunate to get here and thankful to tournament director Craig Tiley and the team for allowing me to be part of this.
“It’s tough for me to tell what’s going to happen in 12 months’ time. I haven’t thought of my schedule moving forward. I’d like to keep playing and play more tournaments, I don’t know. I don’t have a crystal ball.”
NICK KYRGIOS lit up the Melbourne Arena despite a floodlight failure – and then took to Twitter to silence his rival Alex Zverev.
The Aussie, below, beat Italian Lorenzo Sanego in straight sets and was lost for words when John McEnroe pledged to donate £770 for every set he wins in the tournament to Bushfire Relief. But the No23 seed was less charitable after the
Australian Open tweeted a video of German Zverev messing up a betweenthe-legs shot during his win last night – and saying Kyrgios should offer the No7 seed some lessons. Zverev had tweeted that lots of other players had a better chance of winning the tournament than the Aussie. And Kyrgios replied: “I agree, lots of better tennis players than me, but if you hit tweeters like this, please shush.”
FORMER world No 1 Garbine Muguruza
❑
recovered from getting bagelled in the first set and a medical timeout to beat American qualifier Shelby Rogers 0-6, 6-1, 6-0. The 2017 Wimbledon champion said: “I wasn’t feeling at my best at all.”
FABIO FOGNINI, two sets down overnight, beat giant American Reilly Opelka.
But the Italian, who said he “wished a bomb would explode” under Wimbledon in the summer and called Opelka “boring” when he lost to him at the US Open, was given a point penalty by umpire Carlos Bernades for throwing his racket. Fognini, below, yelled: “You’re not fit for this. It’s not like I’m telling you to
**** off, if I told you to **** off it’d be different.” That caused Opelka to yell: “How many
**** ing times are you going to let him get away with it?”
THE first two winners of the Next Gen ATP Finals ❑
– Chung Hyeon and Stefanos Tsitsipas – reached the Australian Open semi-finals two months later. And 2019 winner Jannik Sinner won his first Grand Slam match yesterday, beating qualifier Max Purcell.
STEFANOS Tsitsipas asked his own fans to be “more respectful” in his first match as he compared the crowd to football.
Aussie John Millman, right, had no problems with his own rowdy support after his opening victory over Ugo Humbert. “I love a vocal crowd,” he said. “I like feeding off the energy. I love playing on Court Three. I’ve had some good moments there and the rowdier the fans are – the drunker – the better. I don’t know who the sponsors are this week, it used to be Jacobs Creek. “I know the Chinese [sponsor] one is a really strong alcohol, so let’s feed the crowd.”
LATVIAN qualifier Ernests Gulbis, once a top-10 ❑
star but now No256, won his first main-draw match here for six years by beating Canadian and No 20 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in four tight sets.