World number one Ash Barty barely broke sweat as she swept into the second round of the Australian Open with a 6-0 6-0 thrashing of error-prone Danka Kovinic on Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday.
The Australian won the first 16 points and lost only 10 of 60 over the 44-minute match as the hapless Kovinic sprayed 28 unforced errors – almost one every other point – to succumb to the dreaded “double bagel” scoreline.
“I wanted to go out there and almost take the sting, take the pepper out of the match a little bit and get it on my terms as much as possible right from the get-go and make it feel like she had a real mountain to climb,” Barty said.
“I think that was probably the most pleasing thing overall, right from the start I set the tone and was able to run away with it.”
Such one-sided contests will do nothing for ticket sales at a tournament struggling to get fans through the gates, but Barty will not care a jot as she seeks to become the first homegrown singles champion at the Grand Slam since 1978.
The 24-year-old played her first tournament in almost a year last week and walked away with the title but she knows there will much be tougher tests ahead if she is to land a second Grand Slam crown at the end of next week.
She was also the top seed at Melbourne Park last year after winning her first Grand Slam title at the 2019 French Open but fell to eventual champion Sofia Kenin in the semi-finals.
While she has had a long layoff, not having to quarantine for two weeks before the tournament like her rivals should be an advantage and her draw was kind.
Barty believes, however, that there are more threats than ever in the women’s game.
“I think more than anything is you’re seeing that the women’s game is getting so strong, the depth is incredible. You certainly can’t underestimate anyone,” Barty said.
“Every single opponent deserves to be here and has the right to press you as much as possible.”
Next up for Barty is a second-round match against Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo or local wildcard Daria Gavrilova.
“It will be a challenge if she gets through,” she said of compatriot Gavrilova.
“I always enjoy testing myself against other Aussies. If she does get through, it will be a ripper.”
Victoria Azarenka said she did not get her post-quarantine preparations right for the Australian Open after the former champion was knocked out in the first round by main draw debutant Jessica Pegula. The Belarusian 12th seed, beaten 7-5 6-4, was one of 72 players unable to leave their rooms to train for 14 days ahead of the tournament after passengers on their flights to Melbourne tested positive for Covid-19.
Azarenka, who won both her Grand Slam titles at Melbourne Park in 2012 and 2013, said the isolation had taken a toll. “Was that the best preparation for me? No,” she told a news conference.
“The biggest impact for me personally has been not being able to have fresh air. That really took a toll.”
The 31-year-old said she had been unable to get her game in shape less than a week after being freed from lockdown.
“I don’t know how to prepare after two weeks in quarantine . . . I don’t have a blueprint how to prepare,” she added. “It’s all about trying to figure it out and I didn’t figure it out. Not this time.”
Azarenka started the match on the front foot and was in complete control after racing to a 5-2 lead in the first set. However, things quickly fell apart as American Pegula, the world number 61, took the next five games to seal the set.
Azarenka’s troubles continued in the second set and she took a medical timeout while trailing 4-2 after appearing to have trouble breathing. The Belarusian did not reveal the reason for the medical timeout, making a plea for privacy in her post-match interview.
“I don’t really know why we’re getting asked about medical conditions,” she said. “All this is going out on the internet after for people to talk about, to judge about.
“I truly don’t ever understand why, when somebody is sick, injured or whatever, they have to give their medical reason out in the world. I think that should be changed, unless players do want to talk about it.”
After the timeout, Azarenka returned to the court to hold serve and followed that up with a break to draw level at 4-4, but Pegula broke straight back before serving out the match, sealing victory with an ace. “I’m just disappointed, not being able to perform at my best,”Azarenka added. “Leaving the Australian Open so soon is also disappointing, but it is what it is.”
Elsewhere Mayar Sherif become the first Egyptian woman to win a main draw match at a Grand Slam when she toughed out a 7-5 7-5 win over fellow qualifier Chloe Paquet.
Womens first-round results
(1) Ashleigh Barty (Aus) bt Danka Kovinic (Mne) 6-0 6-0, Daria Gavrilova (Aus) bt Sara Sorribes Tormo (Esp) 6-1 7-5, Barbora Krejcikova (Cze) bt Saisai Zheng (Chn) 6-3 2-6 6-2, (29) Ekaterina Alexandrova (Rus) bt Martina Trevisan (Ita) 6-3 6-4, (21) Anett Kontaveit (Est) bt Aliaksandra Sasnovich (Blr) 7-5 6-2, Heather Watson (Brit) bt Kristyna Pliskova (Cze) 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-3), Shelby Rogers (USA) bt Francesca Jones (Brit) 6-4 6-1, Olga Danilovic (Ser) bt (16) Petra Martic (Cro) 7-5 3-6 6-4, (11) Belinda Bencic (Swi) bt Lauren Davis (USA) 6-3 4-6 6-1, Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) bt Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (Cze) 6-2 6-2, Lin Zhu (Chn) bt Whitney Osuigwe (USA) 6-1 6-1, (18) Elise Mertens (Bel) bt Leylah Annie Fernandez (Can) 6-1 6-3, (25) Karolina Muchova (Cze) bt Jelena Ostapenko (Lat) 7-5 6-2, Mona Barthel (Ger) bt Elisabetta Cocciaretto (Ita) 3-6 6-4 6-4, Danielle Collins (USA) bt Ana Bogdan (Rom) 6-3 6-1, (6) Karolina Pliskova (Cze) bt Jasmine Paolini (Ita) 6-0 6-2, (4) Sofia Kenin (USA) bt Maddison Inglis (Aus) 7-5 6-4, Kaia Kanepi (Est) bt Anastasija Sevastova (Lat) 6-3 6-1, Nadia Podoroska (Arg) bt Christina McHale (USA) 6-4 6-4, (28) Donna Vekic (Cro) bt Yafan Wang (Chn) 4-6 6-3 6-4, (22) Jennifer Brady (USA) bt Aliona Bolsova (Esp) 6-1 6-3, Madison Brengle (USA) bt Anastasia Rodionova (Aus) 6-1 6-2, Mayar Sherif (Egy) bt Chloe Paquet (Fra) 7-5 7-5, Kaja Juvan (Slo) bt (13) Johanna Konta (Brit) 4-6 2-0 ret, Jessica Pegula (USA) bt (12) Victoria Azarenka (Blr) 7-5 6-4, Samantha Stosur (Aus) bt Destanee Aiava (Aus) 6-4 6-4, Nao Hibino (Jpn) bt Astra Sharma (Aus) 2-6 6-3 7-5, Kristina Mladenovic (Fra) bt (20) Maria Sakkari (Gre) 6-2 0-6 6-3, (26) Yulia Putintseva (Kaz) bt Sloane Stephens (USA) 4-6 6-2 6-3, Alison Van Uytvanck (Bel) bt Clara Burel (Fra) 4-6 6-3 6-4, Cori Gauff (USA) bt Jil Belen Teichmann (Swi) 6-3 6-2, (5) Elina Svitolina (Ukr) bt Marie Bouzkova (Cze) 6-3 7-6 (7-5), (14) Garbine Muguruza (Esp) bt Margarita Gasparyan (Rus) 6-4 6-0, Ludmilla Samsonova (Rus) bt Paula Badosa Gibert (Esp) 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-4) 7-5, Ann Li (USA) bt (31) Shuai Zhang (Chn) 6-2 6-0
