Ashleigh Barty and Naomi Osaka yesterday made successful returns after long layoffs, fine-tuning their preparations ahead of the Australian Open.
In the night match, world No. 1 Barty showed little rust and comfortably beat Ana Bogdan 6-3, 6-3 in the Yarra Valley Classic.
“I’ve missed coming out here competing but I felt great tonight,” she said.
Photo: AFP
The Australian played her first tournament in 11 months after opting to remain home in Queensland during the COVID-19 pandemic and even decided against defending her French Open crown.
Barty was made to work early before pouncing on Bogdan’s tentative serve and she proved far too consistent for the Romanian.
The 24-year-old plays world No. 52 Marie Bouzkova next.
Osaka made similarly light work of France’s Alize Cornet in the Japanese star’s first competitive match since winning the US Open for a second time.
The three-time Grand Slam champion hit 22 winners to move into the third round of the Gippsland Trophy with a 6-2, 6-2 victory in Melbourne.
“I haven’t played a match since the final in New York, I was definitely really nervous going into it, but I’m really happy with how positive I was throughout the match,” Osaka said.
It was an impressive performance from Osaka, who had few problems against Cornet in her first encounter with the French veteran.
Osaka plays Katie Boulter in the next round.
In the men’s tennis, showman Nick Kyrgios pulled victory “out of a hat” in his first match in a year, rallying from a set down.
The enigmatic 25-year-old last performed in February last year at the Acapulco Open, before a wrist injury and then the pandemic brought his season to a halt.
The Australian took time to get his groove back against 209th-ranked Frenchman Alexandre Muller, losing the first set, then needing left knee treatment before knuckling down to win 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) in the Murray River Open.
“I was just excited to come out here, any opponent for me was going to be tricky, I just wanted to find my feet,” he said.
Now ranked 47, he will next play fellow Australian Harry Bourchier.
Meanwhile, two-time Australian Open quarter-finalist Tennys Sandgren was also in the winners’ circle, beating fellow American John-Patrick Smith 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in the Great Ocean Road Open.
Sandgren faces Italian Salvatore Caruso next.
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