|
MELBOURNE: Defending champion Serena Williams and
world No. 1 Justine Henin safely negotiated the Australian Open
first round Monday, as third seed Jelena Jankovic narrowly avoided a
major upset.
Under blazing sun, a super-fit
Williams sailed past Australian qualifier Jarmila Gajdosova, 6-3,
6-3, in just over an hour, but was below her best as she began her
quest for a ninth Grand Slam title.
“I think everyone could
probably tell I was a little scratchy. But, you know, it’s the
first round. Just moving forward,” said the seventh seed.
“I thought she played well. I
thought she definitely has a lot of power and she has a really good
serve. Actually, I think she has a really, really good return.”
Williams stunned the tennis world
here last year when she beat Maria Sharapova in the final after
entering the tournament unseeded and ranked 81 after an
injury-plagued 2006.
She said the memories came
flooding back when she walked out on center court.
“Yeah, I just thought about
last year, my last match on that court, I was able to win it.
That’s all I thought about. I didn’t think about the ceremony,
holding up the trophy. I just got right back into the swing of
things and thought, I have to stay focused.”
Belgian top seed Henin, who won
the Sydney International on Friday, was given an unexpectedly tough
workout by Japan’s Aiko Nakamura in her match, before winning 6-2,
6-2.
“It’s been the best season of
my career but I’m just focused on this tournament now,” said
Henin, who won here in 2004 but missed last year’s tournament as
she finalized her divorce. She is now unbeaten in 29 matches, a run
stretching back to the Wimbledon semifinal in July.
Jankovic very nearly became a
high-profile casualty when she was pushed to the limit by
17-year-old Austrian Tamira Paszek before prevailing 2-6, 6-2, 12-10
in an epic three-hour, nine-minute battle.
The highly-fancied Serb, who
enjoyed a rapid rise through the women’s rankings in 2007, gave
away the first set 2-6 but got back into her stride by taking the
second. The 22-year-old’s characteristic vigor came to the fore in
a thrilling third set which lasted almost two hours.
Also marching into the second
round were world No. 5 Maria Sharapova and Amelie Mauresmo of
France.
Sharapova, last year’s beaten
finalist, overcame a mid-match form hiccup to defeat Croatian Jelena
Kostanic Tosic, 6-4, 6-3, and set up a meeting with tennis mom
Lindsay Davenport.
The world No. 51 Davenport, the
2000 Australian Open champion, scored a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 victory over
Italy’s Sara Ennari.
Mauresmo, the 2006 champion who
came into the tournament under an injury cloud and largely written
off after a slide from three to 18 in the rankings last year,
defeated Tatiana Poutchek of Belarus 6-7 (6-8), 6-0, 6-0.
The matches were played on the
new Plexicushion hardcourts that have replaced the Rebound Ace that
had been used here since 1988.
The surface is designed to help
reduce wear and tear injuries for the players, as well as produce
more consistent bounce and cooler court temperatures.
Meanwhile, defending champion
Roger Federer begins his campaign for a 13th Grand Slam crown on
Tuesday, having recovered from a bug that threatened to derail his
tournament.
--AFP
|
