Defending champs Williams, Djokovic advance at Aussie Open

In searing heat, the 6-time Australian Open champion, who is gunning to equal Steffi Graf’s Open-era record of 22 Grand Slam titles, ground down the Italian 6-4, 7-5 in one hour and 45 minutes during her first round clash.

Williams withdrew from a warm-up tournament because of inflammation in her left knee, so the win over Giorgi was her first completed match since her bid for a calendar-year Grand Slam ended in a semifinal loss at the U.S. Open. Williams has won the Australian Open six times in her career.

Fernando Verdasco rallied from a 2-1 deficit to win the last two sets, recovering a break in the fifth as well, claiming a 7-6 (6), 4-6, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2, only his third victory in 17 matches against his fellow Spanish lefthander.

Williams’ next opponent will be 18-year-old Russian Daria Kasatkina, who beat Croatia’s Ana Konjuh 6-4, 6-3, and she faces a potential quarterfinal match against 2015 finalist Maria Sharapova, who reached the third round with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

Serena Williams says her recent knee problem wasn’t a problem as she came through a testing first round match at the Australian Open.

Kvitova pulled out of last week’s Sydney International with gastro, having also retired mid-match during the first round in Shenzhen earlier this month, her only other tournament appearance since the Fed Cup final in November.

“It wasn’t very easy – she obviously plays really well… She plays very well and knows how to hit the shots”, Williams said after the match, as seen on ESPN2.

“I haven’t played a competitive match in a really long time so it was good for me to come out here and get through it”. I don’t know if you’re trying to create a story about that match or for that matter any of the matches of the top players losing in the early rounds.

“I think I served well today”.

Djokovic played his match, and then faced a grilling over the reports.

Djokovic cruised past South Korean ace Hyeon Chung 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

While the report fails to name any of the players allegedly involved, it does implicate tournaments of high esteem, including Grand Slam events and Wimbledon – the sport’s most lucrative tournament.

“She’s really young and really aggressive”, Williams said.

Association of Tennis Professionals president Chris Kermode strongly denied the authorities or Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU), set up to police the sport, had sought to cover up any suspected improprieties.

The 2016 Australia Open served off with both defending champions, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams opening their defenses with wins, albeit it was not straightforward for Williams. “I was approached through people that were working with me at that time”, he told reporters in Melbourne.

“Now I can breathe a little bit normally”, she said.

Wozniacki, seeded 16th, lost 1-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 to Kazakhstan’s world No76 Yulia Putintseva, while USA’s Stephens was beaten 6-3, 6-3 by Chinese qualifier Qiang Wang.