Smooth sail for Nadal, Osaka

The return of Rafael Nadal and Naomi Osaka to court had been overshadowed by the off-field drama involving nine-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic.

However, neither Nadal nor Osaka was put off by the saga as they notched up straight-set wins in their respective men’s and women’s singles first-round matches. Renewing his bid for a men’s record 21st Grand Slam crown, Spaniard Nadal began his Australian Open 2022 campaign with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 triumph over Marcus Giron of the USA on Monday.

“On a personal level, I would like to see him (Djokovic) play here. Whether it is fair or not for him to play here is another discussion, which I don’t want to talk about anymore,” said sixth seed Nadal.

In the women’s section, the 13th-seeded Osaka from Japan began her title defence on a high as she posted a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Camila Osorio of Colombia. Ashleigh Barty, who is aiming to become the first Australian woman to clinch the trophy here since 1978, started with a 6-0, 6-1 demolition of Lesia Tsurenko from Ukraine.

French Open 2021 champion Barbora Krejcikova of Czech Republic defeated Andrea Petkovic (Germany) 6-2, 6-0 while Greek fifth seed Maria Sakkari came up trumps 6-4, 7-6(2) against Germany’s Tatjana Maria. Two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka from Belarus also progressed, thanks to a 6-3, 6-1 win over Hungarian Panna Udvardy.

Meanwhile, 11th seed Sofia Kenin of the United States suffered a 6-7(2), 5-7 defeat at the hands of compatriot Madison Keys. In the men’s event, third seed Alexander Zverev (Germany) battled to a 7-6(3), 6-1, 7-6(1) victory over countrymate Daniel Altmaier while No.7 Matteo Berrettini of Italy beat Brandon Nakashima (the USA) 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(5), 6-3.

No.14 Denis Shapovalov from Canada recorded a 7-6(3), 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(3) victory against Laslo Djere of Serbia, with No.10 Hubert Hurkacz (Poland) securing a 6-2, 7-6(3), 6-7(5), 6-3 win over Egor Gerasimov from Belarus.

Djokovic landed in Serbia on Monday after his deportation from Australia. The 34-year-old touched down in Dubai, the UAE, early on Monday and later boarded a plane to Serbian capital Belgrade. Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has given Djokovic a chance to return to the country under “right circumstances” before the end of what could be a three-year ban. Even as he flew home from Australia, doubts arose whether Djokovic would be able to play the French Open.

A member of the French Parliament said that a new law, which would exclude unvaccinated people from sports venues, restaurants and other public places, would apply to anyone who wants to play.