Zheng wins indoors as Day 1 of the Australian Open is disrupted by rain
Leylah Fernandez of Canada plays a backhand return to Yuliia Starodubtseva of Ukraine during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
AUTO TEST VIDEO BIN 20241209195301
California highway patrol stretched to ‘maximum capacity’: Officer | Morning in America
TikToker will still ‘hustle’ if app is banned | Morning in America
LA fires: Why did State Farm cancel 70% of Palisades policies? | Dan Abrams Live
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen made the most of the indoor conditions under a roof at Rod Laver Arena to advance to the second round of the Australian Open in straight sets Sunday while it poured with rain outside.
In her first match on Melbourne Park’s main court since her loss in last year’s final to Aryna Sabalekna, Zheng advanced 7-6 (3), 6-1 over 20-year-old qualifier Anca Todoni.
It was cool in the climate-controlled environs of the marquee stadium but it wasn’t without some discomfort for Zheng.
The fifth-seeded Zheng wasted three set points from 40-love before dropping the 10th game. Then she had to save a set point before going to a tiebreaker, where Zheng regained her momentum.
In the second set, Todoni needed a medical timeout for treatment on her lower back after three games but it only slowed down Zheng’s push for victory by a few minutes. In the end, she finished in just under two hours.
Zheng’s run to the final at Melbourne Park last year made her a household name in China, and her gold medal at the Paris Olympics has only elevated her status — and the pressure she faces now every time she walks on court.
“Of course, the (fans) start to be more and more pressure, but at the same time they are pushing me to become a better person and better athlete,” she said in a post-match TV interview. “And I think I deal good with the pressure and I like to play with the pressure.”
Zheng and Todoni had just finished the pre-match formalities when play was delayed by a few minutes so that the roof could be closed. It was one of three matches that continued under cover. As spectators scrambled for cover, tournament organizers suspended play on all outside courts until later in the afternoon.
The Australian Open runs over 15 days, with organizers adding an extra Sunday for the second year running to allow first-round matches to be more evenly spread.
It’ll likely come in handy with the early schedule already behind. Because when it rained, it poured on Sunday.
The 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva was the first player to reach the second round, advancing 6-3, 6-3 over Marie Bouzkova on John Cain Arena.
After a trade of breaks and a tough hold, Andreeva broke for a 4-3 lead and was serving in the eighth game when the roof had to be closed on their court.
She dominated in the indoor conditions. After closing out the win, she walked over to her coach Conchita Martinez at the side of the court, grabbed a towel and dried off.
“I’m very happy today that I played on a stadium with a roof,” Andreeva said.
___
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis