Rusty Andreescu falters against crafty veteran
Return to play after 15-month absence ends in a quick exit at Australian Open
Bianca Andreescu's comeback after a 15-month absence from tennis ended abruptly in the second round of the Australian Open on Wednesday with a 6-3 6-2 loss to wily Taiwanese veteran Hsieh Su-wei.
Eighth seed Andreescu, one of the 72 players unable to train during hard quarantine in the lead-up, attacked with her typical abandon at Rod Laver Arena, but found a brick wall in the form of the double-handed Hsieh, who drove the Canadian to distraction with her defence.
With no apparent plan B, Andreescu doubled down on the power game and the unforced errors piled up as she slumped to a 5-2 deficit in the second set.
Andreescu saved two match points on serve, but bowed out meekly with a double-fault on the third as Hsieh advanced to a third-round clash against Venus Williams or Sara Errani.
Earlier, world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty got off to a roaring start at the Australian Open on Tuesday in Melbourne, routing Montenegro's Danka Kovinic 6-0, 6-0 in just 44 minutes.
The 24-year-old Australian won the first 16 points and lost just 10 in the entire match as she posted the third Wta-level double bagel of her career.
“I'm not thinking about the double bagel at all until the end of the match and we have shaken hands,” said Barty.
“I wanted to go out there and almost take the sting, take the pepper out of the match a little bit, and get it on my terms as much as possible right from the get-go, and make it feel like she had a real mountain to climb.”
It's the first time Kovinic, 26, has failed to win a single game in a match.
Barty, coming off her ninth career title at the Yarra Valley Classic, next faces compatriot Daria Gavrilova, who beat Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-1, 7-5 to advance. Also winning swiftly on Tuesday was No. 6 seed Karolina Pliskova, one of five Czech women to reach the second round.
Pliskova needed just 47 minutes to beat Italy's Jasmine Paolini 6-0, 6-2, reeling off six aces in the victory.
The day's biggest upset came at the hands of American Jessica Pegula, who stunned No. 12 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 7-5, 6-4.
Montreal's Leylah Annie Fernandez fell to No. 18 seed Elise Mertens 6-1, 6-3.
Other seeded winners included No. 4 Sofia Kenin of the U.S., No. 5 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, No. 11 Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, No. 21 Anett Kontaveit of Estonia, No. 22 Jennifer Brady of the U.S., No. 25 Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic, No. 26 Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan and No. 28 Donna Vekic of Croatia.
Seeded players to fall included No. 13 Johanna Konta of Britain and No. 16 Petra Martic of Croatia.
On the men's side, despite an ailing back, No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal managed to pull off a smooth first-round victory over Serbia's Laslo Djere.
The Spanish star fended off four of five break points in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 victory in one hour, 51 minutes. Up next for Nadal is American qualifier Michael Mmoh, who advanced after a gruelling 7-6 (3), 6-7 (3), 3-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5 win over Serbia's Viktor Troicki that lasted four hours, six minutes.
Mmoh trailed by at least two games in each of the sets he eventually won.
Also opening strongly was Russia's Daniil Medvedev, who won his 15th straight match with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, B.C.
The fourth-seeded Medvedev was coming off winning the ATP Cup on Sunday.
“(I) didn't know how it would be physically, so I'm happy that I managed to finish it fast and feeling good,” said Medvedev.
Medvedev will face Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain in the second round.
Other seeded players who were victorious on Tuesday included No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, No. 7 Andrey Rublev of Russia, No. 9 Matteo Berrettini of Italy, No. 16 Fabio Fognini of Italy, No. 19 Karen Khachanov of Russia, No. 21 Alex de Minaur of Australia, No. 22 Borna Coric of Croatia, No. 24 Casper Ruud of Norway, No. 28 Filip Krajinovic of Serbia and No. 31 Lorenzo Sonego of Italy.
Four seeded players fell on Tuesday, with No. 12 seed Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain and No. 13 seed David Goffin of Belgium tops among them.