Australian Open: What you need to know
ICYMI: The best from day one
W2W4 on day 2
Sofia Kenin understands that this is not the main story at Melbourne Park. This distinction goes to Ashleigh Barty, the world number 1 and local favorite, who returns from an 11-month break. Or Serena Williams trying to match the Grand Slam mark 24 times. Or the return of Bianca Andreescu’s injury after 18 months away.
No, this 22-year-old American was whistling under the radar as the defending champion of the Australian Open. However, carrying the title brings with it some heavy baggage.
“Mentally, I have to deal with the emotions and understand who I’m going to play, obviously they’re going to play without pressure,” Kenin told a pre-tournament press conference. “They’ll probably play better against me, so I have to try to get on my nerves somehow.”
Kenin opens his defense on Tuesday against the Australian wildcard Maddison Inglis, which Kenin says he plays “like in Maureen Connolly in the old days”.
She lost that match, but as for this title, “Obviously, I’d like to defend it.”
The upper seeds open
Nr. 1 Ashleigh Barty: Broken on the field in the Yarra Valley class, defeating Garbine Muguruza 7-6 (3), 6-4 in the final. Because he received a pass against Serena Williams, Barty played only four games. She is considered one of the favorites with a favorable draw, but Barty does not see it that way.
“I feel exactly like the other 127 girls playing,” she said after defeating Muguruza. “We are all equal. I think that when making predictions in a draw, I don’t think anyone will ever be fully fulfilled in tennis. We will only see how the extraction expands. ”
After a well-deserved day off, Barty faces Danka Kovinic from Montenegro.
Not. 5 Elina Svitolina: After losing to eventual champion Elise Mertens in the quarterfinals of the Gippsland Trophy, Svitolina takes Marie Bouzkova from the Czech Republic, who took a set from Barty in a match in round three last week.
Not. 6 Karolina Pliskova: He left the Yarra Valley Classic last week in the third round, losing to Danielle Collins. Pliskova receives the Italian Jasmine Paolini who won two matches last week.
Coming in … Hot!
Nr. 18 Elise Mertens: The 25-year-old Belgian won 4-for-4 in the Gippsland Trophy, winning her sixth WTA title. Mertens won four of the five matches last fall in Linz, falling in the final to Aryna Sabalenka. Her first-round opponent is 18-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez.
Good. 20 Maria Sakkari: He reached the semifinals in each of the last three tournaments for a 9-3 record. Sakkari fell to Anett Kontaveit in last week’s Grampians trophy semifinal. Next: Kristina Mladenovic.
Kaia Kanepi: I saw his zoom on position 65 at no. 94 with a race to the Gippsland Trophy final. While losing to Mertens 6-4, 6-1, Kanepi has won 14 of the last 15 games last year. She plays Anastasija Sevastova.
29 Ekaterina Alexandrova: The 26-year-old Russian shouted in the semifinals of the Gippsland Trophy, defeating Simona Halep, the seed, along the way. Alexandrova’s first round opponent is Italian Martina Trevisan.
Adolescents in the spotlight
Coco Gauff: He defeated Naomi Osaka at the Australian Open in 2020, Venus Williams in 2019 at Wimbledon and won a title in Linz at the age of 15. Gauff is now 16 years old and faces Jil Teichmann in the first round. In the second is Elina Svitolina, serial no. 5.
Leylah Fernandez: She made the third round of her last Grand Slam in Paris and the second round at the 2020 US Open.
Looking for the old major magic
Sloane Stephens: It’s been a while since she won the US Open in 2017, but she was a semifinalist of the Australian Open in 2013, and her record is face to face against the opponent in the first round no. 26 Yulia Putinseva is 2-2 – all business in three sets.
Svetlana Kuznetsova: The 2004 US Open Champion and the 2009 French Open Championship are another threat at the age of 35. He won two of the three matches against first-round opponent Barbora Strycova; they shared their two Grand Slam meetings.
Sam Stosur: Sixteen years separates these Australian first-round enemies. Stosur, 36, won the US Open in 2011. Destanee Aiava, 20, is a wildcard. The two never met.
Upset clock
Nr. 12 Victoria Azarenka: The two-time Australian Open champion withdrew from the Grampians Trophy last week after her first game of the year. Jessica Pegula, a 26-year-old American, could be difficult. As a qualifier, he won five matches at last year’s Western and Southern Open to reach the quarterfinals, then won the first two matches at the US Open.
Not. 25 Karolina Muchova: The 24-year-old from the Czech Republic pulled the short straw in the draw: Jelena Ostapenko. The 2017 French Open champion, who is still only 23 years old, remains dangerous.
Nr. 11 Belinda Bencic: The Swiss player’s talent fell surprisingly in her first match of 2021, against Sorana Cirstea in the Grampians Trophy. He fights Lauren Davis, a 27-year-old American ranked 75th. Davis defeated Angelique Kerber in the second at Wimbledon in 2019.