Bad record for tennis women
Only one defies weather and postponement chaos
01/18/2023 3:38 p.m
Laura Siegemund holds the flag high: As the only German tennis player, she reaches the second round at the Australian Open and saves the women from a zero number. Tatjana Maria cannot take the momentum from Wimbledon with her. In the teenage battle, 18-year-old Gauff wins over England’s number 1.
Laura Siegemund was pretty “happy” after she saved the German women in Melbourne from the zero number. “Of course you somehow try to play for your country,” said the 34-year-old, who, last but not least, was really happy for herself with her opening win at the Australian Open. Tatjana Maria, on the other hand, quickly looked ahead after an unnecessary defeat.
In her first round match, Siegemund defeated the Italian Lucia Bronzetti 2:6, 6:4, 6:3 after a long wait. Wimbledon semi-finalist Maria, on the other hand, lost 6-3, 5-7, 4-6 to Bronzetti’s compatriot Lucrezia Stefanini in uncomfortable conditions Down Under. “It goes on,” said the 35-year-old: “The year is still young.”
For Siegemund, it was the first victory in a Grand Slam tournament since her participation in the quarterfinals at the French Open 2020. And she produced the same yield in Melbourne as with the German men, who only recorded the success of Alexander Zverev. Zverev will now play against the American Michael Mmoh on Thursday night (approx. 5 a.m. CET / Eurosport), Siegemund could start their duel with Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu, who was 27th, almost at the same time.
The Swabian Siegemund had kept her nerves, the start of the match had been postponed again and again due to unpredictable weather. “It’s extremely difficult under the conditions,” she said at Eurosport: “We waited two days for the match, felt like we warmed up 15 times – and then there was always drizzle in between. You have to be prepared for a roller coaster.” She played with long clothes in the Australian summer.
Gauff wins teen duel
Siegemund and Maria should have started on Tuesday, but extreme heat and rain affected the organizer’s planning and demanded patience from the waiting players. Maria, who couldn’t keep up the momentum of her strong Wimbledon run, had wished for other conditions.
“I think it would have been better for me to play in the heat,” she said: “Then the balls are just faster. In the cold, they get super big after two or three points and then there really isn’t much going on .” However, they all have the same problem, she added.
Meanwhile, British No. 1 Emma Raducanu was eliminated by No. 7 seed Coco Gauff of the United States. Raducanu’s health raised concerns after the 20-year-old grabbed her left side throughout the 6-4, 7-6 loss. At the start of the second set of the second round match against 18-year-old Gauff, the Brit winced in pain as she struggled to maintain the power in her game. Gauff, like her compatriot Jessica Pegula, who beat the Russian Alyaksandra Sasnowitsch in the second round, is considered a co-favorite for the title.