Australian Open roundup: Nadal meets milestone Barty easily passes first round
2022-01-18 12:20:58Source: Xinhuanet
Xinhua News Agency, Canberra, January 17 (Reporters Yue Dongxing, Hao Yalin) The Australian Open opened on the 17th. Spanish star Nadal ushered in his 70th victory in this Grand Slam. Thie went for the never-before-successful championship with a comfortable victory in the home crowd cheers.
No. 6 seed Nadal beat American player Geelong in straight sets at the Rod Laver Stadium in Melbourne Park that day, continuing his winning streak in the new season. He won a tournament in Melbourne this month, his first in Australia to win a tournament in 13 years since he won the Australian Open in 2009.
“Last week was very important to me. I played three games, won three games, and won a championship. I feel pretty good.” Nadal said after the match on the 17th.
A 35-year-old veteran, Nadal missed the second half of last season due to injury. Before the start of the new season, he did not participate in official competitions for five months. Talking about the key to getting back in shape, he said that we must maintain a positive attitude.
“I think it’s getting better and better now,” he said.
“It’s really hard at the beginning, you sometimes don’t have the best feeling on the court. But just stay positive and find the right kind of energy when you’re playing… By winning game after game, it definitely helps.”
That night, the No. 3 seed and German player Zverev defeated compatriot Altmaier 7:6(3), 6:1, 7:6(1) in 2 hours and 38 minutes through two tie-breaks. Advance to the second round.
In the women’s singles arena, top seed Barty swept Ukrainian veteran Lesia Chulenko 6:0, 6:1 in just 54 minutes, and got a good start.
“It certainly feels great to come back and play. I’ve done a good job of adjusting, the game feels good, it’s clean and smooth,” she said. In addition, Osaka Naomi, Kregitzkova, Sakari, Svitolina and other famous players have also all advanced.
China Golden Flower performed well that day. The 19-year-old Zheng Qinwen, the famous Wang Qiang and the wild card player Wang Xiyu all entered the second round. Among them, Wang Qiang defeated the No. 18 seed and American rising star Gauff, known as the “genius girl”, 6:4 and 6:2.
After the “visa turmoil” that lasted about 10 days, Djokovic, the defending champion of men’s singles, issued a statement on the 16th saying that he respected the ruling of the Federal Court of Australia that day and would leave Australia and be unable to participate in this year’s Australian Open. Australian Immigration Minister Hawke, who revoked his visa, confirmed on the evening of the 16th that Djokovic had left Australia that night.
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