Croatia’s Donna Vekic got another Grand Slam campaign off to a winning start on Sunday before sending a touching message to those recently suffering in the Los Angeles wildfires.
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The No.18 seed was among 16 women’s first round matches scheduled in the top half of the draw on a rain-interrupted first day at Melbourne Park.
The Australian Open 2023 quarterfinalist dealt with the challenge posed by Frenchwoman Diane Parry impressively at times during a 6-4 6-4 win at Margaret Court Arena, a stadium she later described as one of her favourite on tour.
“She's such a tricky opponent, slicing and dicing, moving well, but I was serving really well,” Vekic said. “I had 38 winners, I've heard, so I'm pretty happy with that.”
As is customary for players that win matches on big courts, after the handshake she was asked to sign the TV camera lens and wrote the letters ‘LA’ next to a heart.
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Raging fires in and around Los Angeles have hit the headlines in recent days, a city Vekic regularly uses as a training base with her American coach Pam Shriver.
“It's a very difficult situation for [Pam],” Vekic told the media. “She's home in LA. Her house is okay for now, but so many have lost everything, and it's a horrible situation.
“We were doing our pre-season in LA this year, so we were just there two weeks ago. So I really cannot believe what's happening. We are very sad that she's not here with us.”
Vekic also reflected on how she has changed after a busy and successful 2024 which saw her reach a maiden Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon quickly followed by an Olympic silver medal at the Paris Games.
“I feel like a different person,” she explained. “The year was very, very long, very tough. A lot of things happening on court, off the court. So I feel like things happened in one year that sometimes happen in 10 years. So I have a very different perspective on tennis this year.
“I think last year tennis was everything to me. It was the most important thing. I wanted to win a slam.
“But after winning a medal, I've kind of ... In my head I was like, ‘Okay, if I never win another thing, it's fine.’ But still, on the other hand, I'm more hungry, more motivated than ever to keep winning, to maybe eventually get that slam, especially after playing semis at Wimbledon, being so close to the finals.”
World No.12 Paula Badosa was another seed to ease through during a reduced schedule because of a lengthy spell of rain.
The Spaniard was named 2024 WTA Comeback Player of the Year after climbing the rankings following a severe back injury, and was too tough for China’s Wang Xinyu 6-3 7-6(5) at John Cain Arena.
“I was really nervous because of the potential she has,” the 11th seed admitted.
“It's always tough to start these kind of tournaments. I think she was a very tricky opponent. She played really, really well. I fought through it pretty well.”
One player who had to be especially patient was the Canadian leftie Leylah Fernandez.
The 2021 US Open finalist was first on the schedule at 11am local time at Kia Arena, and finally finished off a tricky match against Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva 7-5 6-4 around nine hours later after a lengthy stoppage.
It could have been a little more straightforward had Fernandez converted match points at 5-2 and again at 5-3 in the second before she eventually crossed the line.
“It’s been a long, long day,” the 30th seed joked in her on-court interview. “I’m just happy I stayed positive for the most part and I tried to fight for every point.”
While there were wins for defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and the player she beat in last year’s final, Zheng Qinwen, the women’s draw did lose one seeded player on Day 1.
No.29 seed Linda Noskova – the Czech who beat Iga Swiatek at last year’s event en route to the last eight – went out in three sets 5-7 6-3 6-4 to 22-year-old Dane and recent Auckland champion Clara Tauson.