Jessica Pegula upsets two-time former Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka
American Jessica Pegula is building on her momentum from the end of last year, upsetting 12th-seeded and two-time former Australian champion Victoria Azarenka 7-5, 6-4 to advance to the second round for the first time.
Azarenka required medical attention on court in the second set when she bent over in the middle of the game and appeared to have trouble breathing. After a medical timeout, she managed to hold serve and break Pegula to level the match at 4-all, but then lost the final two games.
Pegula, 26, the daughter of Buffalo Bills and Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula, had her best-ever result at a major at last year’s U.S. Open, where she reached the third round. She also won two matches at last week’s Yarra Valley Classic warm-up tournament before losing to defending Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in three sets.
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Azarenka, who won the Australian Open in 2012 and 2013, was one of 72 players who were forced into hard quarantine after arriving in Australia. She played just one match after being released in late January.
Nadal overcomes back issues to win
If Rafael Nadal has a bad back, he didn’t show any signs of it in his 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 win over Laslo Djere in the first round at the Australian Open.
The No. 2-ranked Nadal is aiming to go one better than Roger Federer and win a men’s-record 21st Grand Slam singles title.
He didn’t play for Spain at the ATP Cup last week and has been troubled by stiffness in his lower back.
“Well, it’s been a tough 15 days for me. I had some issues with the back,” Nadal said in his post-match interview. “I needed to survive today. That’s what I did. Straight sets – that’s what I need.”
Gauff advances in straight sets
American Coco Gauff, 16, advanced by beating Jil Teichmann of Switzerland 6-3, 6-2. The youngest player in the tournament, Gauff served out the first set with three aces in the final game and gained momentum from there.
Gauff, ranked 48th, faces a tough second-round opponent in No. 5-seeded Elina Svitolina.
A year ago Gauff advanced to the round of 16 in her Melbourne debut, and that run included an upset victory over Naomi Osaka. Gauff also reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon in 2019, making a big splash in her first Grand Slam appearance.
Kenin advances after tough match
Sofia Kenin’s Australian Open title defense got off to a bit of a rocky start before she righted herself and pulled out a two-set win.
She trailed by an early break and took about 45 minutes to actually wrest some semblance of control before eventually beating 133rd-ranked Australian wild-card entry Maddison Inglis 7-5, 6-4.
“First round, it’s obviously nerves for me,” said Kenin, who followed up her first major title last year by reaching the final at the French Open.
Kenin acknowledged with a chuckle that she was “not too happy with the way I played” but added: “A win is a win.”