Riske goes 2 days, 3 sets for victory

MELBOURNE, Australia — Eighteenth-seeded Alison Riske of Peters Township was stretched out — over two days, and three sets — before she advanced to the second round of the Australian Open for the first time in the past three years.

Riske, 29, outlasted Yafan Wang, 25, of China, 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-3, in a match that was suspended after the first set on Day 1 because of rain.The heavy rain that disrupted the opening day gave way to sunny skies and pleasant playing conditions on Day 2.

Wang, ranked 51st, forced the third set after the match was suspended for around 20 hours on Court 8.

Former No. 1-ranked Maria Sharapova’s run of first-round exits at the majors continued with a 6-3, 6-4 loss against 19th-seeded Donna Vekic.

Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam title winner, was given a wild card for the main draw at Melbourne Park after her year-end ranking slipped to 136 in 2019 after a season interrupted by injuries. The 2008 Australian Open winner reached the fourth round here a year ago, missed the French Open and then lost in the first rounds at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

Everyone had the same question when the 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 tournament?

“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.

“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 most-anticipated contest at the first major tennis tournament 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.

Second-seeded Karolina Pliskova clinched a 6-1, 7-5 win with a late service break against Kristina Mladenovic in the opening match on Day 2 at Rod Laver Arena.

Pliskova, who lost to eventual champion Naomi Osaka a year ago in the semifinals in Melbourne, started the season with a title in Brisbane.

“It’s a new beginning here,” Pliskova said. “The weeks before, nobody really counts and nobody remembers . ... ”

Sixth-seeded Belinda Bencic advanced with a 6-3, 7-5 victory against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.