On January 13th, Beijing time, the second day of the Australian Open saw former champion Naomi Osaka take to the court against her opponent Garcia. The two are considered rivals, having met in the first round of last year's Australian Open where Garcia won in straight sets. Surprisingly, they were drawn against each other again this year, giving Osaka the opportunity for revenge.
Due to their familiarity with each other, the match started with intense exchanges from the beginning. In the first four games, both players held their serves. In the fifth game, Garcia served, but Osaka seized the opportunity to break serve and lead 3-2. Osaka then successfully held her serve in the following game, bringing the score to 4-2 and taking the initiative.
In the seventh game, Garcia managed to hold serve, keeping a glimmer of hope for a comeback. However, Osaka did not let her have that chance. After holding serve in the eighth game, Osaka broke Garcia's serve again in the ninth game, ending the first set with a score of 6-3 and leading 1-0 overall.
In the second set, Garcia had no room for error. In the first game, Osaka served first, but Garcia changed her strategy from the first set. Her efficient receiving caused Osaka to make frequent mistakes, culminating in Osaka hitting the ball out of bounds, allowing Garcia to break serve for the first time in the match. In the second game, Garcia served, and Osaka had a chance to break back but failed to capitalize, resulting in Osaka trailing 0-2. Fortunately, in the third game, Osaka finally held serve, stopping her downward trend. In the fourth game, the two players reached deuce at 40-40, but Garcia took the next two points to hold serve and lead 3-1. Frustrated by this outcome, Osaka smashed her racket. In the subsequent games, both players held serve, and after the eighth game, Garcia led 5-3. In the crucial ninth game, Osaka served but made continuous errors. With Garcia returning serve directly for a point, she successfully broke serve again and leveled the total score at 1-1 with a 6-3 victory in the second set.
In the decisive third set, both players held serve in the first two games. In the third game, Garcia served and once led 30-0, but Osaka fought back and broke serve to lead 2-1, which could be the turning point in the match. In the sixth game, Garcia had a chance to break serve, but Osaka turned the tables, and the score became 4-2. Osaka saw the hope of victory and did not relent. After winning 6-3, she ultimately defeated Garcia 2-1, advancing to the second round.
It must be said that Osaka's performance in this match was indeed outstanding. She seized most of the opportunities presented to her, eventually eliminating Garcia 2-1 to avenge her first-round exit last year. With the completion of this match, all women's singles matches on the second day of the Australian Open concluded. On this day, favorites like Gauff and Swiatek competed and advanced, but unfortunately, four former Grand Slam champions were eliminated.
Among them, former Australian Open champion Kenin lost 0-2 to Gauff, ending her run in the first round. Another former champion, Azarenka, also lost 0-2 in an upset to Bronzetti. As the 21st seed in this event, the 35-year-old Azarenka failed to reach the second round, which is indeed regrettable. However, with age catching up to her, Azarenka's form has significantly declined, and she has little competitiveness left in Grand Slam events. We can only hope that she continues to enjoy her tennis career.
As for the 16th seed Ostapenko, she also exited 0-2 in her match against Bencic. As a former French Open champion, Ostapenko's elimination was entirely self-inflicted, as she made a staggering 55 unforced errors during the match. Such a performance would be surprising if it resulted in advancement. Ostapenko's exit was undoubtedly the biggest upset of the day, as her abilities should have allowed her to progress beyond the first round.
The most tragic on this day was undoubtedly former Wimbledon champion Vondrousova, who withdrew due to injury before the match even began. Without stepping on the court for a single minute, she bid an early farewell to this year's Australian Open.
On the second day, Yuan Yue also competed, facing Pavlyuchenkova. Despite losing the first set, Yuan Yue fought back to level the score. In the decisive set, Yuan Yue even broke serve first, but unfortunately, she was eventually reversed by Pavlyuchenkova, resulting in Yuan Yue's 1-2 elimination and another first-round exit in a Grand Slam event.
In the men's singles competition, Shang Juncheng also participated but had to withdraw due to injury in the second set. This means that both Chinese players competing on this day were defeated by their opponents and failed to advance. After two days of the Australian Open, only Zheng Qinwen has advanced among the Chinese players, and we hope that upcoming competitors like Zhang Shuai and Zhang Zhizhen can bring pleasant surprises to the fans!