Australian Open 2016 Schedule: TV Replay Coverage, Live Stream for Tuesday Draw
A day after top-seeded Serena Williams won her first-round match at the Australian Open with little trouble, the news was not as good for Venus Williams in the first Grand Slam tournament of the year.
The eighth-seeded Williams looked a step slow, and her serve lacked its typical zip, as she lost to Great Britain's Johanna Konta 4-6, 2-6 in the opening round.
Konta jumped to a 5-2 lead in the first set, and while Williams was able to fight back by winning two games in a row, the British player closed out the opening set by winning the clinching game of the set at love.
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Williams lacked much of the drive she usually shows after losing that first set, and she dropped the first five games of the second set before getting on the board with wins in two games.
It proved too little and too late, as she was unable to contend with Konta's crisp strokes. Konta won 25 of 52 points on Williams' serve, but Williams was only able to win 18 points when Konta was serving.
"Big win for @JoKonta91 - she upsets No. 8 seed Venus Williams 6-4 6-2 with a terrific performance #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/ktaOFZy1w2
— Australian Open (@AustralianOpen) January 19, 2016"
Konta surprised herself by beating the 35-year-old Williams.
"When the draw came out...I just hoped to stay out there more than an hour,” Konta said, per AusOpen.com. “I have strong belief in the way I want to play out there and the way I want [to] be thinking."
Where: Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia
Watch: Eurosport (UK only) and ESPN (U.S. only)
Tuesday Replay Coverage: Eurosport 1 from 2.15 p.m. (GMT); The Tennis Channel from 7 a.m. (ET); ESPN2 from 3 p.m. (ET)
Full Schedule: AusOpen.com
On the men's side, second-seeded Andy Murray opened the tournament with a convincing 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Alexander Zverev of Germany.
Murray was sharper and quicker than the hard-serving German, and he was in charge of the match throughout. Murray was particularly adept at the net, where he won 12 of 14 points.
Zverev had no chance to sustain any success because he couldn't handle Murray's serve. Zverev won just 21 of 76 points when he was receiving, but Murray had no trouble in that area. He won 44 points on Zverev's serve.
"No.2 seed @andy_murray notches 40th career #AusOpen match win, d. rising #ATP star Zverev 61 62 63 to advance to R2. pic.twitter.com/ZDgNYxcdvw
— ESPNTennis (@ESPNTennis) January 19, 2016"
Third-seeded Garbine Muguruza made a big splash with her performance in the Grand Slam tournaments last year, and she opened the Australian Open with a convincing 6-0, 6-4 victory over Anett Kontaveit of Estonia.
The 22-year-old Spaniard was the runner-up to Serena Williams at Wimbledon last year, and she made it to the fourth round of the Australian Open in 2015.
Muguruza was very sharp with her first serve. She won 21 of 23 points (93 percent) when she was successful putting her first serve in. Kontaveit was successful just 62 percent of the time under those circumstances.
Muguruza said she was nervous to play a first-round match, but she is already thinking of a chance to achieve a championship in the Grand Slam tournament.
“If you want to win a Grand Slam, you’re probably going to have to beat Serena. I’m excited, but it’ll be great if I play against her,” Muguruza told Jake Stevens of AusOpen.com.
Muguruza may be getting ahead of herself, but she is off to a sharp start.
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