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MELBOURNE, Australia – The Canadian women can thank No. 4 seed Caroline Garcia for getting them primo slots on Rod Laver Arena this week.
First came qualifier Katherine Sebov on Tuesday.
On Thursday, Leylah Fernandez will attempt to do what Sebov could not, which is to upset the No. 4 seed.
If she can do it, it would make a pretty big statement in this early blush of the season.
Melbourne is 16 hours ahead of Eastern time.
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AUSTRALIAN OPEN
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Surface: Outdoor Hard
Dates: Jan 16 – 29, 2023
Draw size: S128 / D64 / XD32
Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023
Final results
Women’s singles, second round
Canadian content
[4] Caroline Garcia (FRA) def. Leylah Fernandez (CAN) 76 (5) 75
Upsets
Marketa Vondrousova (CZE) def [2] Ons Jabeur (TUN) 61 57 61
[Q] Katie Volynets (USA) def [9] Veronika Kudermetova (RUS) 64 26 62
Donna Vekic (CRO) def [18] Liudmila Samsonova (RUS) 63 60
Magda Linette (POL) def [16] Anett Kontaveit (EST) 36 63 64
[PR] Laura Siegemund (GER) def [27] Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU) 57 75 63
Seeds advancing
[5] Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) def. Shelby Rogers (USA) 63 61
[12] Belinda Bencic (SUI) def Claire Liu (USA) 76 (3) 63
[23] Zhang Shuai (CHN) def. Petra Martic (CRO) 63 63
[26] Elise Mertens (BEL) def. Lauren Davis (USA) 64 63
[30] Karolina Pliskova (CZE) def Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) 60 75
Seeds squeaking through
[19] Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS) def. [WC] Taylor Townsend (USA) 16 62 63
Other results
Linda Fruhvirtova (CZE) def [WC] Kimberly Birrell (AUS) 63 62
Camila Giorgi (ITA) def. Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (SVK) 64 63
Varvara Gracheva (RUS) def [Q] Lucrezia Stefanini (ITA) 63 61
Nuria Parrizas Diaz (ESP) def Anastasia Potapova (RUS) 63 62
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Would have liked to have seen Andreescu against Swiatek but alas, not meant to be. Never can tell who’s a sure winner when matches are delayed both for the start and in-match. Don’t know the stats, but if one took the time to look, I’d bet such matches generally go against the favourite, who’s keyed up and primed for a specific schedule, than the under-dog who really has nothing to lose. Just a thought.
Hmmmm. Other than the players who are (theoretically) first on, no one knows EXACtLY when they’re going to play – especially at a major when there are men’s matches on the court and they could go two hours or five.
These players have been doing this all their lives, and tennis being an outdoor sport have dealt with these kinds of circumstances their whole lives.
Shapovalov didn’t get on court until something like 1030. Many here last night well after that. And most of them pulled through.
Bottom line is that she’s too good to lose to a qualifier. So if she was blaming the circumstances (she wasn’t, really, no more than an average amount), there are different questions to ask.
And yes – would have LOVED to see her take on Swiatek.