Australian Open 2020 day one women’s wrap
Coco Gauff, the 15-year-old superstar breaking new ground, dominated seven-time Grand Slam champ Venus Williams, while Serena Williams is one step closer to Margaret Court’s grand slam record. WOMEN’S WRAP
Tennis
Don't miss out on the headlines from Tennis. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Margaret Court’s once unassailable grand slam record remains Serena Williams’ primary Australian Open motivation as the American embarks on a historic Melbourne Park conquest.
Williams would equal Court’s grand slam singles tally of 24 – a mark which has stood since 1973 – with an eighth Australian Open triumph.
Watch over 50 sports LIVE on Kayo! Stream to your TV, mobile, tablet or computer. Just $25/month, cancel anytime. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
The 2003, ‘05, ‘07, ‘09, 2010, ’15 and ’17 Melbourne Park champion, Williams edged to within six wins of Court’s longstanding benchmark with a 6-0 6-3 first-round victory over Russian Anastasia Potapova.
Without a major title since becoming a mother three years ago, Williams is desperate to emulate Court’s tally.
“I think it’s factored a lot into my game, and now it’s just more or less about doing the best that Serena Williams can do,” she said.
“Margaret Court was a wonderful, great champion. And now how great is Serena Williams?
“That’s it. That’s kind of what I have been thinking about the last couple of weeks and months. It definitely helps me relax a lot.”
Williams, 38, would join a select grand slam club of mothers to win majors if she succeeds in lifting the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup once more.
Court claimed the Australian, French and US Open crowns in 1973 after giving birth while Evonne Goolagong landed the 1977 Australian Open and the 1980 Wimbledon titles.
Kim Clijsters emulated the pair with 2009-10 US Open and ’11 Australian Open success.
Williams has lost four major finals since returning to the tour in 2018.
The right-hander said victory in Auckland was a “monkey off my back, kind of.”
“It was very important for me to get a win in the final,” she said.
“It felt like a relief. Yeah, like I could move forward now.”
Williams steamrolled Potapova with a familiar barrage of power and precision to take the first set in 19 minutes.
The second set was more of a contest, but the outcome was always inevitable.
“Yeah, it was good,” Williams said.
“I felt like I started out really well. Played really strong in the first set, and just building on that.”
TEEN SUPERSTAR CRUSHES LEGEND
- Lauren Wood
Coco Gauff doesn’t care what anyone thinks of her game.
But there’s one thing she wants everyone to know – she is a normal teenager.
The American prodigy, who is just 15, took down one of her idols in a dazzling warning as to the future of women’s tennis.
The emerging star - real name Cori - demolished seven-time grand slam champion Venus Williams in the first round of a grand slam for the second time in 12 months with a 7-6(5) 6-3 victory to advance to the second round.
And she is playing with a new-found freedom at her first Australian Open.
“I feel like my mindset has changed since US Open,” she said.
“(At the) US Open I feel like I was on edge every match just because everyone was talking about US Open before Wimbledon even ended. So I knew that was the next thing.
“I guess I came to the realization that I need to play my game, not worry about what people think of me.
“I still have a lot more to, I guess, become like one of those big names. I feel like I still have a lot to improve.”
Gauff, who turns 16 in two months’ time, is the youngest player in the tournament, while Williams – who will hit 40 in June – is the oldest.
But her youth does not intimidate Gauff, who declared she is capable of beating any player in the women’s draw.
“I respect everyone’s game and I respect my opponent, but at the end of the day if I’m going to go against them, I can’t say, Oh, I’m going to lose this match. That’s not the right mentality to have,” she said.
“The (players) who are the great ones, they don’t really fear anyone. You respect your opponent, but you can’t go into the match fearing someone, because then you’re going to lose, and I don’t want to lose.”
She defeated Williams in the opening round at Wimbledon in her first grand slam last year, going on to make the fourth round, and made the third round at her home slam at Flushing Meadows in September.
“Very active” on Tik Tok – a video app that has proved a sensation - Gauff maintained that she “procrastinates” like any other teenager.
“I procrastinate a lot on that app,” she said.
“I have to do homework. I’m still procrastinating on that.”
Gauff works closely with Williams’ sister Serena, with coach Patrick Mouratoglou overseeing both of their campaigns with the pair embarking on a training camp – including dancing and kayaking - together in the south of France in the off-season.
“Serena and I, we didn’t pick up the choreography as fast as everyone else,” she laughed.
“In the end we did well. She pulled a split, that was really cool.”
OSAKA FEELING AUS OPEN VIBE
-Lauren Wood
Self-confessed “hermit” Naomi Osaka might be the one defending the Australian Open title but the Japanese star is adamant she is not feeling the heat.
Osaka, 22, had her parents in tow at Melbourne Park for the first time, with her father Leonard having previously avoided her player box at the year’s first grand slam due to “superstition” until Monday’s 6-2 6-4 win over Marie Bouzkova.
Her mother Tamaki has not travelled to Melbourne previously, though Osaka isn’t guaranteeing much sightseeing beyond the tournament grounds.
“To be honest, I don’t really go out much, I just go out to get food and then go back in my room, like a hermit,” she grinned.
“I think (we’ll be) just coming on-site and the vibe is so different. I mean, everyone is, like, bustling around, but it’s more, like, upbeat.
“I think that’s one of the main reasons why I like it here.”
Osaka said she had entered last year’s US Open amid a “whirlwindy” vibe, but had learned to shrug off the title of defending champion to be much more relaxed.
“I think I was too, like, into, like, the idea that I was the defending champion,” she said.
“Like, I didn’t take into account that, like, it’s a new tournament, so there’s, no, like, reward for being a defending champion and you just have to go into it with the mindset that everyone wants to beat you and it’s going to probably be tougher the second time around.
“I don’t really have this mentality of, I’m, like, defending now. It’s really weird.
“But I’m very thankful for it, because I think if I did go into the match with that, I would have been, like, tense.”
ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO RETIRE, WOZ?
-Lauren Wood
Caroline Wozniacki isn’t ready to retire just yet.
The Danish former world No. 1 is hunting her second Australian Open title in three years in what is set to be her final grand slam after announcing her retirement last month.
Her 6-1 6-3 victory over Kristie Anh secured a spot in the second round but the 29-year-old admitted it had been “tricky” to ensure that emotion did not get the better of her.
“It’s always tricky, especially knowing it’s my last tournament,” Wozniacki said.
“There’s a lot of just emotions, but I tried to keep them in check, and I thought I did that very well today.
“I think I’m just really trying to enjoy every moment.”
She said she was maintaining hope that her final Melbourne Park moment would be “still two weeks from now”, with either qualifier Kaja Juvan or 23rd seed Dayana Yastremska tomorrow.
Either way, Wozniacki is hopeful that her legacy on the game can include a shift toward more friendships in a lockerroom that has included one of her best friends, Serena Williams.
“I would hope so,” the Dane said.
“I think in general my generation we had great friendships — even from the juniors and we were a big group coming up and playing on the tour at the same time. I think we have friendships that will carry on past the tennis. I think that’s great.
“I don’t know how it was before me. All I know is that Serena obviously played way before me and so did Venus (Williams), and they were both super nice to me and very open and have always been there for me. So I have had a great experience with them.
“Then I hope that the younger generation will also be nice to each other, because, you know, it’s just a sport and we all try our best out here. We all want to be the best that we can, but at the end of the day, there is a life outside of the court. I think that’s even more important.”
Wozniacki represented Denmark at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games and admitted while this year’s Tokyo Games had been a temptation, she had been forced to draw the line somewhere, joking that she could appear in a different capacity.
“It was a big topic for me and something that obviously has been such an amazing experience for me to play at the Olympics, and I think playing in the Tokyo Olympics would have been amazing,” she said.
“I wished I could have played, you know, doubles or mixed doubles. That would have made it even more desirable for me to go out there, as well. But, you know, I decided that I wanted to finish here, and, you know, who knows? Maybe I’ll show up at the Olympics and do something else, you know. Maybe, we’ll see. Maybe I can be a part in another way.”
She has previously completed the New York Marathon but joked that she may be suited to something “a little more leisurely” in retirement.
Originally published as Australian Open 2020 day one women’s wrap
Star refuses to play, attacks umpire
Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas unleashed a fiery outburst as he torched a chair umpire after being hit with a midgame penalty.
‘Raw and edgy’: Kyrgios launches new beer
Move over Foster’s Lager. Tennis ace Nick Kyrgios is launching a new lager the sports star is hoping will put Australian beer on the global map. It’s the latest venture in Kyrgios’ growing fortune off the court.