Amid the excited buzz of the season’s first Grand Slam for the world’s top players, there’s also a weight of expectation. The majors, of course, are the game’s marquee events offering the most prize money, rankings points and prestige.
There’s also the attention of a massive global audience, and the focus is especially bright for former titlists. There are five of them in action on Day 1 of Australian Open 2019 – including defending champions Caroline Wozniacki and Roger Federer, who headline a tantalising night session.
Andy Murray is not quite a former champion of this event but as a five-time finalist, he’s deeply entrenched in the Australian Open’s recent history. Combined with the three Grand Slam titles he’s claimed elsewhere (twice at Wimbledon, once at the US Open), his two Olympic gold medals and the world No.1 ranking he first achieved in 2016, Murray is also one of the game’s most respected competitors.
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It made the news that Murray’s 13th Australian Open will also be his last appearance at Melbourne Park all the more significant. On Friday, the 31-year-old made an emotional announcement that Wimbledon 2019 is likely to be his last event on tour, with the hip injury that kept him out of last year’s Australian Open still a major hindrance. “I don’t want to keep playing that way,” he lamented.
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There’s nothing that Murray and his many supporters would love than one last memorable run at the Australian Open. The draw, however, has handed him a difficult first-round opponent in Roberto Bautista Agut, who he faces at Melbourne Arena.
While Murray is the winner of all three matches he’s contested against the Spaniard, much has changed since the pair’s last match at Shanghai in 2016. A limited schedule has seen the former AO finalist drop to world No.230, while Bautista Agut is the world No.23 and arrives in Melbourne with a ninth career title only recently secured in Doha.
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Rafael Nadal also takes to the Rod Laver Arena court after recent injury challenges, the AO 2009 champion having undergone ankle surgery in November. With limited match preparation, the world No.2 faces a difficult first-round opponent in James Duckworth, the world No.238 Australian who earned a wildcard entry in the AO Wildcard Play-off.
Still, motivation is stronger than ever for the 17-time Grand Slam champion. “If I am not feeling good, I will not be here,” Nadal insisted ahead of his first-ever match against Duckworth.
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Other former champions in Day 1 action include Maria Sharapova and Angelique Kerber. Sharapova, who lifted the trophy here in 2008, opens the Rod Laver Arena session against first-time opponent Harriet Dart, while AO 2016 champion Kerber hopes to build on her 4-2 winning record against Polona Hercog.
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The spotlight naturally shines most intensely on the 2018 champions. Wozniacki takes a 1-0 winning record into her first-round meeting with Alison Van Uytvanck but will recognise the danger presented by the 24-year-old Belgian, who spoiled Garbine Muguruza’s title defence at Wimbledon.
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Federer, too, is also wise to the challenge as he begins his quest for a Melbourne hat-trick against Denis Istomin. Despite winning all six matches he’s contested against the world No.99 from Uzbekistan, the six-time champion has dropped the first set of their past two encounters. Istomin caused one of the most seismic upsets of AO 2017 when he ousted Novak Djokovic.
But if there are nerves, there are also powerful memories for those high-profile players. “I think it's a positive to be here as the defending champion. I'm just taking it as a nice, fun challenge,” said Wozniacki.
Federer, entering his 20th Australian with the possibility of becoming the first man to win seven titles, is equally positive. “I'm very happy with the preparation thus far,” the No.3 seed said on Sunday. “(I’m) super excited that it's just a day away now from my next match. This is going to be exciting.”