Korea’s Chung excited to face idol Djokovic at Open

This was his first match against Djokovic and also his first appearance at the Australian Open.

Sharapova, the 2008 champion and four-time finalist at Melbourne Park, dropped two service games in the first set, including once when serving at 5-1, but was otherwise consistent except for some over-hit ground strokes.

Less than two hours later he looked just as relaxed as he capped off a straight-set win over South Korea’s Hyeon Chung, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

Coming off a year in which he won 11 tournaments and three of the four majors, the 28-year-old Serbian ironman should safely negotiate his opening match whatever the weather.

“I was approached through people that were working with me at that time, that were with my team”, he said.

The American, 34, said she had no problems with her knee on Rod Laver Arena.

Chung, who started learning to speak English a year ago, said his major goal in 2016 was to play for his country at the Rio Olympics.

Williams made a bright start, in a way, holding up one finger and twirling in her neon yellow two-piece outfit to celebrate her 6-4, 7-5 over Camila Giorgi on Monday.

“I moved much better, so slowly but surely I’m feeling a little bit better”.

“It wasn’t very easy”, Williams said. She lost her only match there, reached the semifinals of the WTA Finals and played in the Fed Cup in the middle of November but pulled out of Brisbane this month due to a sore left forearm.

It is just the second time that Hewitt, who is playing a record 20th consecutive Australian Open and reached the final in 2005, will have faced a fellow countryman at his home Grand Slam.

“I play very hard, and every player I play seems to play hard”, she said. “I was able to stay in it and stay calm and that is what matters most”.

“I think I served really good and I played a solid match but I feel like I can improve even more so I think that’s a positive”.

While, former No. 1 ranked Caroline Wozniacki is out of the Australian Open, losing 1-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4 to Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan. “I think I served well today, ” Williams said.

Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russian Federation slips on the court during her second round match against Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016. She then overwhelmed Giorgi in the final game to win the match with her ninth ace.

The sixth seed scored a commanding 6-3, 6-1 win over Thai qualifier Luksika Kumkhum in the opening match of the tournament at Rod Laver Arena.

Raonic, who at No. 13 has his lowest seeding at a Grand Slam tournament since Wimbledon 2013, is aiming to improve on his run to the quarterfinals here previous year, when he lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.

“When the draw came out and I saw who I was playing I was like ‘Well, OK, I just hope to stay out there more than an hour, ‘” Konta said in a post-match TV interview, apparently as surprised as anyone after her straight-sets win over No. 8-seeded Williams.