Australian Open star riles up fans as another Federer appearance made – overnight wrap | Tennis | Sport
Yulia Putintseva roared and bowed the the Brazilian fans at the Australian Open (Image: @AustralianOpen)
The Australian Open kicked off on a high as home hope Talia Gibson became the first winner of the tournament, racing through her opening match on the Kia Arena.
The Brits also had something to cheer about as qualifier Arthur Fery stunned 20th seed Flavio Cobolli, who was feeling under the weather and called the physios and doctors multiple times during their match. Both players also called for video reviews early on, making the most of the tech in Melbourne.
Maria Sakkari made a winning return to Margaret Court Arena after suffering some tough losses on the same stage – and she’s already hit what’s been branded the shot of the tournament. Over on the smaller Court 6, Yulia Putintseva riled up the Brazilian fans after coming from behind to beat Beatriz Haddad Maia.
And things fell apart for Gabriel Diallo after taking the first set over Alexander Zverev, literally. The world No. 44’s shoelaces kept breaking during their exciting opening-round match on Rod Laver Arena, and he blew a one-set lead to lose 6-7(1) 6-1 6-4 6-2, while a familiar face watched on. Sort of.
It’s going to VAR
The video review system is in use at this year’s Australian Open, allowing umpires to take another look at incidents, including double bounces and net touches. And VAR came into play a couple of times as British qualifier Arthur Fery faced 20th seed Flavio Cobolli. Facing a break point at 3-3 in the first set, Cobolli asked for a video replay when he thought Fery touched the net mid-rally, which would have given the point to Cobolli.
But there was a delay on the John Cain Arena as it took a while for the technology to kick in, and both players were left waiting. When they could finally rewatch the point, the umpire ruled that Fery only touched the net after the rally was over, and awarded him the point, allowing him to break. Fery then called for VAR when Cobolli underarm served him a few minutes later, claiming a ballkid had been moving at the back of the court. The British No.7 later said: “When I asked for the video replay, I knew the ball kid was still running, so it was worth the wait.”
Take a bow
Fiery Kazakh Yulia Putintseva came from a set and break down to beat Beatriz Haddad Maia in front of a loud crowd on Court 6. Haddad Maia has a cheering squad of Brazilian fans wherever she goes, and they tried to will her on to victory, but Putintseva stormed back to win 3-6 7-5 6-3. The current world No. 105 doesn’t shy away from some flash antics on the court, and that was no different when she won.
Putintseva roared at the crowd as she walked towards the net for the handshake, holding her arms out to rile them up. And she kept it up after shaking hands with the umpire, turning around and waving her finger in the air before taking a few bows in front of Haddad Maia’s fans.
Gabriel Diallo’s shoes kept breaking during his first-round match (Image: Channel 9)
New shoes, please
Big-serving Canadian star Gabriel Diallo had an unusual problem during his blockbuster first-round clash with last year’s runner-up Alexander Zverev on Rod Laver Arena. The 6’8” star was tearing it up on the court, taking the first set and putting Zverev on upset alert, and he also tore his shoelaces. Multiple times.
They broke in the fourth game of the match, and Diallo was given some time to change them. It happened again in the first-set tiebreak, and commentators Robbie Koenig and Andrea Petkovic questioned whether he had enough spare shoes and laces in his bag to keep going. But it didn’t stop, and Diallo left the court after losing the second set – probably to find more shoes.
A Federer returns… but not Roger
Roger Federer returned to Melbourne Park for the first time in six years earlier this week, getting the opportunity to say a proper goodbye to the Aussie fans after retiring in 2022. The 20-time Major winner held a press conference on Thursday, and then took part in an exhibition doubles match with Ash Barty, Andre Agassi, Pat Rafter, and Lleyton Hewitt during the tournament’s inaugural Opening Ceremony on Saturday night.
And another Federer returned to Rod Laver Arena on Sunday, as one of the former No. 1’s sons was spotted sitting courtside for Zverev vs Cobolli. Josh Eagle, who was commentating courtside, said the youngster even helped him translate some German exchanges between Zverev and his camp.
Pills and bathroom breaks for Cobolli
Flavio Cobolli clearly wasn’t at 100 per cent as he lost to British No. 7 Arthur Fery over on the John Cain Arena. The Italian came back from an early break down in the first set but could be heard asking the umpire about potential bathroom breaks, and was seen by the trainers several times. Cobolli was seen taking tablets and electrolytes, but it was of no use, and he went on to lose 7-6(1) 6-4 6-1.
“Yesterday I was fine, I trained well, and I slept well. Today I woke up with a stomach problem – you can imagine what it was. I didn’t vomit, but I lost a lot of fluids and suffered from stomach pain throughout the first set. I couldn’t help it, it’s something you can’t control. I thought I’d get better game after game, but now I’m even worse,” the world No. 22 later told Italian media.
“Everything was under control until half an hour before the match, I even warmed up well. As soon as I stepped onto the court, I started feeling severe pain and had to go to the bathroom, but the rules don’t allow it. I tried to resist, I took a lot of pills to try to stop the flow, but they didn’t work right away. When I finally went to the bathroom, I felt a little better at first, but then the pills took effect, I lost a lot of fluids, and my energy plummeted.”
Aussie, Aussie, Aussie
The Australian Open got off to a fitting start, as Aussie wildcard Talia Gibson became the first winner of this year’s tournament. The world No. 119 – who also reached the second round here last year – beat Anna Blinkova 6-3 6-1 in just 76 minutes to open play on the Kia Arena.
“Walking back out on this court today was just the most amazing feeling, “ she told the crowd. “I just firstly want to say thank you so much to everyone who came out. I couldn’t believe the number of people that were in here today. It just means a lot.”
Marta Kostyuk suffered a nasty fall and had her foot strapped up (Image: Channel 9)
Shot of the tournament
It’s day one, and we may have already seen the best shot of the Australian Open. Greek star Maria Sakkari ripped a forehand return winner around the net while facing Leolia Jeanjean on Margaret Court Arena, and raised her arms in disbelief. Sakkari went on to win 6-4 6-4 and admitted she never thought she had something like that in her.
“I think probably the best shot I’ve ever hit in my career. I’m 30 years old now, I’ve been playing tennis for 25 years, I could never imagine that I could actually hit that kind of return. You see when Roger hits it, Carlos, and then myself! And I’m like, ah! I’m pretty sure it’s gonna make probably one of the best shots of the tournament,” Sakkari said of her hotshot. On-court interviewer Barbara Schett joked that it should have been worth two shots, and the world No. 52 replied: “Maybe the match, right?”
Kostyuk out after nasty fall
No.20 seed Marta Kostyuk finished runner-up in Brisbane recently, but failed to carry her form into the Aussie Open and bowed out in the first round. The Ukrainian star won a tight first set over Elsa Jacquemot and served for the second before she was broken. Kostyuk also held a match point but Jacquemot forced a decider.
Trouble struck for Kostyuk as she served to stay in the match at 5-6. She went down on the court and grabbed her foot and ankle in agony, requiring immediate medical attention in the middle of the game. Her foot was heavily strapped up and she played on but lost in a final set tiebreak 6-7(4) 7-6(4) 7-6(7).
