Players arrive at the Australian Open, the year’s first Grand Slam, refreshed, brimming with belief and ready to showcase the fitness and shotmaking honed during intense training blocks.
DRAW: Australian Open 2024 women’s singles
Eighth seed Maria Sakkari is among those whose gruelling work during the off-season appears to be paying dividends. The Greek star powered past Nao Hibino 6-4 6-1, to post her first win at a major since AO 2023.
“I lost three first rounds [in] my last three Grand Slams, so for me, it was a very difficult match today emotionally,” she said. “I’m very happy I was able to do the job right.”
Sakkari won 100 per cent of first-serve points during the second set as she began swinging with the freedom of a top seed who has conviction in her own game.
“I was relieved in a way that I managed to win that first set by not playing my great tennis, but sometimes you have to win ugly – definitely that second set was not ugly,” said the 28-year-old, who struck just six of her 26 unforced errors during the second set.
Sakkari said she spent much of November and December in Greece running on the track, lifting weights and spending more hours on court than usual.
"It's been I think the best pre-season I've ever had in my career," said Sakkari.
She spent at least six hours training for three of the weeks: four hours on the court and more than two hours in the gym. Before that patch, she endured days with double fitness sessions. "I feel young and very powerful, very energetic," she said.
During the break, the world No.8 changed racquets and finessed her forehand. "Now I'm feeling that it's my best shot, very powerful, and for sure the racquet has helped."
The athletic right-hander, who faces Elina Avanesyan in the second round, is undefeated this year after recording a trio of wins at the United Cup, including a straight-sets victory over AO 2016 champion Angelique Kerber.
Ninth seed Barbora Krejcikova, another title contender, needed 2 hours and 30 minutes to notch a comeback win over Japanese wildcard and world No.122 Mai Hontama 2-6 6-4 6-3.
“Mai was playing really well, I was struggling, but I believed that I [could] come back and level up,” said Krejcikova.
The Czech player pumped her fist and roared in delight after a return from Hontama sailed long on match point.
Krejcikova, who has never lost during the first round of the AO, said she had a good off-season, during which the focus was fitness, which meant “a little bit less tennis.”
“Physically I feel well, I think I just need to play more matches,” she said. “I feel very hungry, I really want to be [here], I really want to fight, I really want to get the wins, and I really want to get back on track and perform well and get some good matches,” the 28-year-old said.
Over at John Cain Arena, Leylah Fernandez earned a 7-6(5) 6-2 win over Czech qualifier Sara Bejlek.
“I haven’t played many lefties, so it was a tough one,” said the southpaw. “I’m super happy that I was able to play some good points in important moments,” said the 21-year-old.
Fernandez clinched 14 of 17 net points, and credited herself for continuing to approach the net, regardless of the outcome. “It’s always fun being at the net and being able to finish a good point that way,” she said.
Believe it or not, 2021 US Open finalist Fernandez has never advanced past the second round of the Australian Open – but she’s optimistic about 2024 being a turning point.
“I've never had excellent results in Australia, but I think every year I'm just learning little by little about my mistakes, what I've done right, what I've done wrong,” she said.
“I love playing in the summer… I'm just going to play and have fun out there, and hopefully the results are coming my way.”
“I'm just trying to enjoy the moment and not think about what I've done in the past or what I should be doing in the future,” Fernandez said.
The Canadian set up a second-round clash against Alycia Parks. The American scored a comeback 2-6 6-2 6-4 win over qualifier Daria Snigur in what was an AO main draw debut for the duo.
Elsewhere, Maria Timofeeva claimed a career-first victory at a major, defeating wildcard Alize Cornet 6-2 6-4.
Timofeeva, a 20-year-old qualifier, struck 24 winners during her victory over the veteran Frenchwoman, a quarterfinalist at Melbourne Park in 2022 who was appearing in her 19th consecutive Australian Open.
“It was the hardest two-set match I think I’ve ever played in my life” said Timofeeva. “I was watching her when I was very little, so [it] was an honour to play against her today.”
In another first, 16-year-old qualifier Brenda Fruhvirtova broke through to score her maiden Grand Slam main draw win with a 2-6 6-4 6-3 upset over Romania’s Ana Bogdan.
Also advancing was Ukrainian 28th seed Lesia Tsurenko, who dug deep to overcome Italian Lucia Bronzetti 3-6 7-5 6-3 in 2 hours and 38 minutes.