TENNIS – Novak Djokovic safely negotiated the first hurdle in his quest for a 25th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open yesterday as women’s title challengers Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff also eased into the second round on day two of the championships.
There were straightforward victories for Daniil Medvedev, local hope Alex De Minaur as well as top Americans Amanda Anisimova and Jessica Pegula in front of another bumper crowd of 100,763 fans at Melbourne Park.
Even with six Grand Slam titles already in the bag, Swiatek is probably nearer the start than the end of her career and she opened her bid for a first Australian Open crown with a 7-6(5) 6-3 win over Chinese qualifier Yuan Yue.
The 24-year-old Pole was far from convincing, however, particularly in the opening set as an inspired Yuan overwhelmed her at times with a relentlessly aggressive game.
Gauff is also bidding for a maiden title in Melbourne and looked every bit the Grand Slam champion as she thumped Kamilla Rakhimova 6-2 6-3 in the first match of the day on the main showcourt.
Anisimova, who downed Simona Waltert 6-3 6-2, and Pegula, a 6-2 6-1 winner over Anastasia Zakharova, also wasted little time in breezing into the second round in the vanguard of a strong American challenge in the women’s draw this year.
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