GAME 0N...
Osaka, Serena, Djokovic and other players finally on court in Australia
Serena Williams was preparing to play Naomi Osaka at an Adelaide exhibition tournament.
But first things first - after 14 days in quarantine because of the COVID-19 pandemic regulations in Australia, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion took her daughter to the zoo.
Williams said she'd been crossing off the 14 days of quarantine on a calendar, having spent the time with her threeyear-old daughter Olympia.
"We went to the zoo, Williams said of her first movements outside of quarantine. "I am so glad it's over because to be in a room with a three-year-old and being her best friend is definitely difficult, especially after training and working out. Honestly, I wouldn't trade anything, spending hours and hours and hours with her was really fun."
Williams' match against Osaka will be a reprise of their controversial 2018 US Open final. Osaka beat Williams 6-2, 6-4 to claim her first major title but the match was most remembered for Williams' verbal altercations with chair umpire Carlos Ramos.
In the opening match Friday at Adelaide, top-ranked Novak Djokovic missed the start of his scheduled exhibition match against emerging Italian talent Jannick Sinner, who was Rafael Nadal's quarantine practice partner.
Djokovic got treatment for a blister on his right hand, leaving Sinner to play Filip Krajinovic, but the eight-time Australian Open champion arrived on court at the start of the second set to cheers from the crowd.
Nadal and Dominic Thiem, who have won the past two majors in Paris and New York, played at the night session on Friday. In the women's No. 1 Ash Barty took on Simona Halep. It will be Barty's first match in 11 months.