Highlights of Tuesday’s second day of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year (all times GMT):
0612 BOUCHARD RELISHING TEST AGAINST ‘GREATEST-EVER’ SERENA
Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard said she was in awe of Serena Williams ahead of a second round meeting with the 23-times Grand Slam winner.
“I think she’s the greatest ever. So it’s just so cool that I’ll be able to share the court with her and an opportunity to see how I compare to one of the best players,” Bouchard said.
“Her ranking is top 20 right now, but to me she’s always number one. I admire the longevity of her career, her dominance over such a long amount of time, how she’s come back so many times from injury, pregnancy.
“I don’t want to talk about it too much and put her on too much of a pedestal because I have to play her in two days, but I love her.”
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Champion Wozniacki through to second round with a comfortable win
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Australian Open order of play on Tuesday
0535 CHUNG RALLIES TO BEAT KLAHN
Last year’s Australian Open semi-finalist Chung Hyeon dropped the first two sets before sealing a 6-7(5) 6-7(5) 6-3 6-2 6-4 win over American Bradley Klahn.
0500 ZVEREV OFF TO FLYER AGAINST BEDENE
ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev stamped his authority as one of the main contenders for the year’s first Grand Slam, thumping Aljaz Bedene 6-4 6-1 6-4.
The German hit 11 aces and 35 winners during a controlled display to prevail in a little under two hours.
0445 KASATKINA FALLS TO BACSINSZKY
Russian 10th seed Daria Kasatkina made a slew of mistakes in her 6-3 6-0 defeat by Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky to crash out of the tournament. Kasatkina served nine double faults and had 24 unforced errors to hand the advantage to her rival.
0440 MUGURUZA TOO GOOD FOR ZHENG
Former world number one Garbine Muguruza defeated China’s Zheng Saisai 6-2 6-3 in 75 minutes.
Muguruza, who has slipped to number 18 in the rankings after an inconsistent 2018, meets Johanna Konta in the second round after the Briton overcame local hope Ajla Tomljanovic 7-6(4) 2-6 7-6(7).
0312 NISHIKORI SURVIVES SCARE
Kamil Majchrzak had eighth seed Kei Nishikori on the ropes with a two-set lead before severe cramps in his left quadricep and right hand forced him to eventually retire from the contest.
With Majchrzak’s movement restricted, Nishikori levelled the match at two sets each and went ahead in the decider before the Polish qualifier retired with the score at 6-3 7-6(6) 0-6 2-6 0-3.
0241 MERCILESS SERENA BLASTS PAST MARIA
Serena Williams began her quest for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title with a 6-0 6-2 thrashing of Germany’s Tatjana Maria in 49 minutes to cruise into the second round.
The American next faces Eugenie Bouchard who outclassed Peng Shuai 6-2 6-1.
0143 PLISKOVA SAFELY THROUGH
Former world number one Karolina Pliskova eased past Czech compatriot Karolina Muchova 6-3 6-2 in 69 minutes to improve her record against qualifiers at all majors to 5-1.
“It’s a good start. I’m happy I saved some time on court… but it’s always tough to play a Czech girl,” Pliskova said.
“I would say I’m lucky because I’m always playing them at every tournament, so I’m happy that I’m through.”
0130 KEYS BUNDLES OUT LOCAL HOPE
American 17th seed Madison Keys, a 2015 semi-finalist at Melbourne Park, began her campaign with an easy 6-2 6-2 victory over Australian wildcard Destanee Aiava as they opened play on the main showcourt Rod Laver Arena.
The 23-year-old Keys had too much power for the highly-rated Aiava and will meet either France’s Pauline Parmentier or Russia’s Anastasia Potapova in the second round.
0010 PLAY UNDERWAY AT MELBOURNE PARK
Play got underway on schedule under sunny skies at 11 a.m. local time (0000 GMT) with the temperature hovering just under the 27 degrees Celsius mark with a forecast high of 33C.
