Tennis, Australian Open: Australian tennis twitchers turned up on the Rod Laver Court yesterday for a rare sighting of Venus Williams, last seen on the Wimbledon Centre Court when she lost to her sister Serena in the women's final.
She beat Ashley Harkleroad 6-2, 6-1, although there was the usual post-match Williams medical bulletin after she appeared to jar her ankle. Or was it the carefully taped knee?
"It was the right ankle. I was going for the swing volley and twisted it. So I'll just monitor it and see how it goes. But I'm not anticipating it will be so bad."
And then it was on to the more important matters of the day - the dress, the earrings. And the engagement ring?
"No engagement ring. Actually my finger has been swollen for weeks now and I can't get this ring off. And the earrings - I got those in Hong Kong. I'm just a regular girl, I really am."
Harkleroad had hoped that Williams, after six months out, might be anything but, and a little rusty. "But she really wasn't, and I was just a little overpowered."
Then it was back to rings and things, Harkleroad having recently become engaged to Alex Bogomolov Jr, who like his fiancee was overpowered, losing 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 to the Wimbledon champion Roger Federer.
The love duo, Lleyton Hewitt and Kim Clijsters, both won, with Hewitt's opponent, Cecil Mamiit of the US, having to withdraw at 6-2, 6-4, 0-1 down having injured his ankle. This was the third successive match, including the semi-final and final in Sydney last week, that Hewitt's opponent has been forced to quit. At this rate, he will win his first Australian Open title by default.
Clijsters, who entered the tournament with an ankle injury of her own and with her participation in some doubt, won her opening match 6-3, 6-2 against Marlene Weingartner of Germany. "It's not healed, but the swelling has gone down and I just hope it doesn't flare up again."
For a man who numbers the Sydney and Adelaide events among his 11 career titles, Tim Henman's record in the Australian Open is decidedly modest.
"Sydney (which he won in 1997) is one of the strongest tournaments of the year so that adds to the frustration, and strengthens the challenge and the motivation to do better this time."
And there was no doubting the verve and resolution with which he began, defeating Frenchman Jean-Rene Lisnard 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 with almost total conviction, save for a moment in the second set when an Australian drunk, juggling a tray of drinks and a mobile phone, caused Henman's concentration to stray.
The drinks were dropped, but not Henman's serve, although he did double-fault twice.
He had practised in the heat of the day under a swirling wind, but by the time he walked on court, at about 7.30 p.m., the temperature had dropped markedly, as had the wind.
Lisnard had turned up four hours earlier, believing the match was due to start after David Nalbandian, a possible fourth-round opponent for Henman, had beaten Ricardo Mello.
The Frenchman had to be quietly pointed back towards the locker room and must have wished he had stayed there as Henman punched volley upon volley beyond his reach.
