It’s a David vs Goliath situation on Rod Laver Arena this afternoon where Ash Barty is a set to the good as she continues her Aus Open campaign. FOLLOW LIVE
So good to see Paula Badosa back in form. She contracted Covid just before last year’s tournament before having a ripper 2021. One to watch as we look towards the middle rounds. She won 6-0, 6-3 while over on Kia Arena, Victoria Azarenka has secured her third round spot with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Jil Teichmann.
No time to waste it seems this morning. Paula Badosa is a set up as are Svitolina, Giorgi and Azarenka after little over an hour on court.Former world No1 Andy Murray was left fuming after Channel 9 opted not to show Emma Raducanu’s first round match against Sloane Stephens.Murray was enjoying some well earned down time after an epic five-set win in the first round of the Australian Open.four-hour epic to record his first win at the tournament in five years. And he would have been looking forward to getting back in time to tune in for fellow Brit Raducanu’s first round game against Stephens. The only problem was Australian TV wasn’t showing the clash, much to the annoyance of the two-time Wimbledon champion. Murray vented his frustration on Twitter, writing: “Come on channel 9 let’s get raducanu [vs] stephens on one [of] the channels instead of 2x Rod Laver!” The 34-year-old missed out on a good game too, as the 2021 US Open champ Raducanu beat Stevens 6-0, 2-6, 6-1 in a high quality encounter. Teen sensation Raducanu breezed through the first set in 17 minutes without losing a game, but was humbled 6-2 in the second by Stephens.He may have lost to Nick Kyrgios in the opening round but Liam Broady left an important message at Melbourne Park.In the absence of any openly gay players in the men’s tour, Broady said it was important that he, and others, did whatever they could to highlight the importance of inclusivity. So in a show of support to the LGBTQ+ community, Broady wore rainbow laces for his blockbuster clash against the Aussie superstar on John Cain Arena.“I know obviously within men’s tennis - is it a taboo? I don’t think it’s really a taboo, but I’ve seen questions before about why there aren’t any openly gay men on the tour, and I just wanted to kind of voice my support in that general area. “And the LGBTQ community, I mean, a lot of those guys have given me a lot of support throughout my career and have been there since day one, so I kind of wanted to give a thank you in my own sort of way.” Broady was then asked if he felt tennis was a sport with a culture preventing players from being open about their sexuality. To which he said: “I don’t think so. I guess the society we live in there’s a culture like that, right? Especially in sport.” The British qualifier also made mention of A League player Josh Cavallo who has suffered online trolling and abuse since coming out last year. “I saw that the first openly gay footballer just came out in Australia. And it’s difficult, right? I mean it’s a big thing to do and at the end of the day in the 21st century, it’s pretty rubbish that people don’t feel like they can be openly gay. It’s quite sad, really. “If there are people in the locker rooms and you kind of... you don’t want to force them to come out, you know, especially if they don’t want to. It’s their choice.”Rafael Nadal steps up his march towards a record 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open on Wednesday, with Ashleigh Barty and Naomi Osaka also taking centre stage. Defending champion Osaka and Wimbledon winner Barty will be one victory away from colliding if both come through their second-round encounters unscathed. Japan’s Osaka, who has won two Australian and two US Opens, faces American Madison Brengle in the night session on Rod Laver Arena. Red-hot Barty, the top seed and home hope, comes up against Italian qualifier Lucia Bronzetti in an early afternoon encounter. Nadal, who recently won his first tournament after five months out battling a foot injury, was highly impressive in racing past American Marcos Giron in straight sets on Monday to open his campaign. “I am super-happy about all the work that we have done to try to be back. We are here enjoying the tennis,” said the Spanish sixth seed, who will face German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann after Barty’s match ends. Nadal’s half of the draw was made easier when the unvaccinated nine-time champion Novak Djokovic was thrown out of Australia.Nick Kyrgios was in outstanding form on all fronts in his Australian Open first round win. Trick shots, sledges and a cheeky crowd celebration at the end.And the entire match was vintage Nick from start to finish.7:15am GOOD MORNINGDjokovic may be public enemy number one to many in Melbourne but he has found an unlikely ally in Kyrgios -- and now the Australian wants them to play doubles. The combustible Kyrgios once famously labelled the men’s world number one “a tool” but he surprisingly raced to Djokovic’s defence over the past week as the unvaccinated Serbian fought against deportation from Australia. Djokovic failed and is now back home, but the 26-year-old Kyrgios hopes they can develop their newfound fondness for one another somewhere down the line. Kyrgios has even won fans in Serbia because of his support for Djokovic -- Serbian player Dusan Lajovic jokingly called him “Nick the Serb” on Monday. “Obviously me and Novak have had some, I guess, differences in the past,” Kyrgios said after victory in the first round on Tuesday at the Australian Open.“I didn’t do it because he was Serbian. If it was another player in that scenario, I would have stood up for what I think was right.”
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