Barty lost in the semifinals of last year’s Australian Open to eventual champion Sofia Kenin, then skipped the French Open and U.S. Open because she stayed in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nadal seemed in firm control of his game despite injury worries as he ousted Laslo Djere with ease 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 in an hour and 52 minutes.
But winning a title the day before his Australian Open first-round match against 21-year-old, No. 11-seeded Denis Shapovalov was a stretch too far.
Top-ranked Djokovic began his Australian Open title defense with a clinical, 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Jeremy Chardy in the closing act of the day 1 program on Rod Laver Arena.
The top-ranked Djokovic was never close to losing against the 33-year-old Chardy, maintaining a winning streak that dates back to 2009.
Rafael Nadal starts his bid for a men’s record 21st major singles title with a first-round match against Laslo Djere on Rod Laver Arena.
Attendance for this year's first Grand Slam tournament is capped at 30,000 per day. On Day 1 last year, 64,387 fans crammed onto the grounds at Melbourne Park.
Serena Williams opened her campaign in an emphatic manner as she zipped past Laura Siegemund of Germany, 6-1, 6-1.
A quarantine worker at one of the hotels directly linked to the Australian Open had also tested positive, forcing the cancellation of a day's play at lead-in events.
Raina achieved the feat after she made the cut for the women's doubles event of the Australian Open.
Akhtar, father of India's current Davis Cup coach Zeeshan Ali, was 83 and breathed his last in Kolkata.
Top-ranked Barty cashed in on her first championship point against Garbine Muguruza in the Yarra Valley Classic, while Daniil Medvedev clinched the ATP Cup title for Russia.
Russia will meet Italy in the final after Fabio Fognini beat Pablo Carreno 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 and Matteo Berrettini swept Roberto Bautista 6-3, 7-5 to account for 2020 runner-up Spain.
Australian tennis player Ashleigh Barty, who has been a former cricketer, took to Twitter to share a video of her bowling with a tennis racquet.
No. 3-ranked Osaka pulled out of her Gippsland Trophy semifinal against Elise Mertens, citing a “niggling injury."
Ankita Raina, who was waiting to know if she gets 'lucky loser' spot in the women's singles, could not make the cut.
Serena Williams withdrew from an Australian Open tuneup tournament citing a right shoulder injury.
First up for the seven-time Australian Open champion will be Laura Siegemund of Germany.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion needed a match tiebreaker to beat fellow American Danielle Collins 6-2, 4-6, 10-6.
To speed things up a little, 17 courts were being used and women's matches were reduced to two regular sets with a 10-point match tiebreaker if required.
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