Former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu’s comeback from injury stalled yesterday at the Australian Open when she became the latest top-10 player to be beaten by crafty veteran Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan.
Andreescu’s power was no match for Hsieh’s shotmaking in a 6-3, 6-2 second-round upset.
“You need to find a way to get through and the crowd helped me fight,” said Hsieh after beating the Canadian, who was coming off a draining three-setter against Mihaela Buzarnescu.
Photo: AP
“It’s strange, I normally feel more excited to play with better players,” Hsieh added.
Congratulated by the interviewer at Rod Laver Arena for “still going strong” at the age of 35, Hsieh held a finger to her lips, shook her head and laughed.
“Just little reminder [for] you. In Asia we normally don’t say the girl’s age in the public,” she said, triggering laughter and applause in the stands.
“You look like you’ve got plenty more years left,” the interviewer persisted, digging his hole a bit deeper.
“I look a little bit younger, but I try my best standing here,” Hsieh said. “Thank you for your comment.”
Kaohsiung-born Hsieh is the world’s top-ranked doubles player, but also has an impressive resume in singles having beaten some of the world’s biggest names at Grand Slams with her unorthodox double-sided game.
Andreescu sat out all of last year because of a knee injury. She said that she felt rusty but healthy this week.
“I definitely have to get back in the groove of things,” said Andreescu, who was seeded eighth. “I don’t feel at my best on the court, for sure, but I’m super happy I’m finally back after being off for so long. It’s such an amazing feeling being back and doing what I love.”
Andreescu, a 20-year-old Canadian, seemed to be befuddled by the 35-year-old Hsieh’s unorthodox game, which includes a two-handed forehand and an unpredictable mix of pace and placement.
“She can literally redirect any single ball you give her,” Andreescu said.
“She can change the rhythm. I can change the rhythm too, but she’s on another level, at least today,” she added.
In the first round of the men’s doubles, Taiwan’s Lu Yen-hsun and Sam Querrey of the US fell to a 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 defeat to Croatian second seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in 68 minutes.
In the men’s singles, eight-time champion Novak Djokovic was given a stern examination by Frances Tiafoe and dropped his first set of the tournament before recovering to win 6-3, 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/2), 6-3.
“I was fortunate to get through the third set today, it was anybody’s game,” said the defending champion, after his win in hot conditions at Rod Laver Arena.
The top seed looked to be in control after taking the first set, but lightning-quick Tiafoe, who reached the quarter-finals two years ago, refused to go quietly.
The American bounced back to take a close second set, but imploded as tensions rose in the fourth, receiving a code violation for an audible obscenity as Djokovic took charge.
“I thought we both played on a pretty high level. I mean, he pushed me to the very limit,” Djokovic said.
Reigning US Open champion Dominic Thiem, runner-up to Djokovic last year, was all smiles as he beat Germany’s Dominik Koepfer 6-4, 6-0, 6-2.
“It was great, to be honest,” Thiem said of his performance.
Naomi Osaka, whose three Grand Slam titles include the 2019 Australian crown, had no such trouble in her evening match against France’s Caroline Garcia, winning 6-2, 6-3 in 61 minutes.
Earlier Serena Williams, 39, continued her quest to equal Margaret Court’s all-time mark of 24 Grand Slams with a 6-3, 6-0 romp past 99th-ranked Serbian Nina Stojanovic.
Williams hit 27 winners in her 101st Australian Open match.
“I’m here to have fun and it’s great to be playing in front of a crowd,” she said.
Williams’ older sister Venus Williams was a major casualty on day three when she painfully rolled her ankle in the first set against Sara Errani before hobbling through a 6-1, 6-0 defeat.
Additional reporting by Reuters and staff writer
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