Two-time former Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka’s first appearance at Melbourne Park since 2016 ended in the first round by Germany’s Laura Siegemund, who overhauled the former world No.1 6-7(5) 6-4 6-2.
Azarenka, the 2012 and 2013 champion, was back for the first time since her run to the quarterfinals three years ago, having given birth to son Leo shortly before the 2017 tournament.
But this wasn’t to be the return she wished for as she slipped to defeat in a scratchy contest in which both players made 40 unforced errors, before Siegemund seized the initiative in the deciding set to tee up a second-round showdown with No.28 seed Su-Wei Hsieh.
“I’m so happy to be back,” Siegemund said. “A couple of years ago I had a great match here playing against [Jelena] Jankovic. “I guess I played a good first set, but even though I was up in the tiebreak, I let go a little bit and she was right there and got me.
“I took a time-out and reset myself – I knew I was playing a good match and I just had to close those situations. In the third set I stayed very focused, because I knew she was not going to hand me the match. I was going to have to gain it, and that’s what I did.”
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Siegemund is making a comeback of her own at this Australian Open. The 30-year-old was enjoying a sterling season in 2017, only to suffer a serious right knee injury that ended her year before Roland-Garros – where she had been tipped as a contender following a fine clay-court season – and kept her off-court until 2018.
There was a sense of déjà vu for the world No.110 on the newly named Melbourne Arena, the scene of that second-round victory over former world No.1 Jankovic in 2016. Now she has another former No.1’s scalp to her name at Melbourne Park, and a first Grand Slam match win since the 2016 US Open.
“I had a tough journey to come back,” Siegemund added. “My ranking now is on the way back up, but to play in this arena, this is what I want to do. It’s a hard way back after an injury like I had, and I’m just enjoying it so much.”