Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff made their big debut at the Australian Open. The Pole and the American, seeds number 2 and 3 in the tournament, lost this Monday Katerina Siniakova (6-3, 6-4) and Sofia Keninchampion here in 2020, (6-3, 6-3) respectively.
Swiatek, who never rose to fame in Melbourne, never lost control of the match. His best result was the 2022 semifinal against an unprecedented opponent for him on a court that soon resigned from the crash.
The player from Warsaw put aside the irregularity of some of his last matches and the noise caused by his doping positive and focused on the court.
Swiatek wants to regain the world number one, who will play in the second round against Slovak Rebecca Sramkova who beat American Katia Voynets 3-6, 6-2 and 6-2.
For his part, Gauff had problems in the beginning, but gradually he imposed his greatest talent against a rival who tried everything but could do nothing to balance the forces.
“It was a tough game for me, but I’m happy with how I played.. “I could have served better, but I could barely see at one end,” said the 20-year-old player, who mixed 12 aces with nine double faults throughout the match.
Gauff, whose best performance in Melbourne was her semifinal loss to champion Aryna Sabalenka last year, She will face Britain’s Jodie Burrage in the second round on Wednesday.
Diana Shnaider, one of last season’s sensations, also debuted with success and who began his presence in this edition of the Australian Open as the thirteenth favorite, she defeated the Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto 7-6(4) and 6-4 and reached the second round.
It took the young Russian one hour and 47 minutes to leave the transalpine team, which he won for the second time in a row, after losing the first three head-to-head matches, in the fifth meeting between the two.
The Russian, who is participating for the third time in the main draw of the tournament, equaled his best record in Melbourne, the second round he achieved in 2023.
She didn’t give a chance to Cocciaretto Shnaider, who a year ago was number 92 on the women’s circuit and now is thirteenth. She will play in the third round with the winner of the match between Australian Ajla Tomljanovic and American Ashlyn Krueger.
Shnaider succeeded in the first section on this second day of the first Grand Slam of the course like the Serbian Olga Danilovic, who defeated the Dutch Arantxa Rus 6-4 and 6-4, the British Jodie Burrage, who defeated the gala Leolia Jeanjean 6-2 and 6-4 and Liudmila Samsonova, twenty-fifth seed, who won the Russian duel against Kamilla Rakhimova 6-2, 6-4.
The surprise of the day came from the Italian Lucia Bronzetti, who defeated Victoria Azarenkawon twice at Melbourne Park, in two sets (6-2 and 7-6(2).
Experience was of no use to Azarenka, who has accumulated sixty-seven Grand Slam appearances, seventeen in Australia, and succumbed in two hours and six minutes to her rival’s push and good start.
The Italian, another representative of the fruitful transalpine harvest of recent times, dismantled the former world number one who tried to improve in the second set.
Bronzetti will play the winner of the match between Romanian Jaqueline Cristian and Croatian Petra Martic in the second round.
Source: La Verdad
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