As we make our way through the first week of the 2021 Australian Open, it makes sense that after the winter off, and after a 2020 season rendered chaotic by COVID-19, that the road to the finals in Melbourne would be even bumpier than usual. The first few days have definitely provided plenty of news, so as you consider your Australian Open betting choices for weekend action down under.
Tennis News: 2021 Australian Open Update
Stan Wawrinka flames out in the second round
Wawrinka, a former Australian Open champ, won the first two sets against unseeded Marton Fucsovics from Hungary. Then the wheels fell off, as Fucsovics forced a fifth set. Wawrinka ran out to a big lead in the tiebreaker of the fifth set, but then blew three match points and ended up losing. Wawrinka had gone five sets eight times before this at the Australian Open, winning four times. However, he made five unforced errors in the tiebreaker’s final seven points, and not even Fucsovics could lose in that situation. Wawrinka, who has won three majors, committed 73 unforced errors in the match, with 43 of those coming from his typically reliable backhand. Fucsovics has already played ten sets through two rounds, having played more than eight hours of tennis to get the wins.
Petra Kvitova bows out in the second round
Kvitova, the ninth seed in this Open, fell to unseeded Sorana Cirstea in three sets, 4-6, 6-1, 1-6. Cirstea struck first, taking the opening set, but then Kvitova restored order with an emphatic win in the second set. Cirstea won the first four games of the third set, though, and that was it. Kvitova appeared to be disturbed in the warm weather on the court and seemed to have run out of gas. Cirstea, 30, had not beaten a top-ten player since October 2017. However, since December, Cirstea has gone 9-1 and could be a dark horse in the women’s draw.
Bianca Andreescu also upset in the second round
Andreescu has a U.S. Open title under her belt, but the Australian Open represented her comeback from injury. When she ran into Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei in the second round, she could not keep up with Hsieh’s precise shotmaking, and she lost in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2. Andreescu had not played at all in 2020, having missed the year with a knee injury. Her U.S. Open title in 2019 had come after a win over Serena Williams in the final. Andreescu was the eighth seed and seemed confused by Hsieh’s unusual play: she brings a two-handed forehand and uses placement and pace that are difficult to predict. Andreescu’s serve was poor, as she lost 17 of the 23 points that she played on her second serve. Hsieh broke her six times and gave her three losses in four second-round Grand Slam matches. Hsieh is ranked #71 in the world and has never put together a consistent game. However, against the world’s top ten, she has gone 8-2 lifetime, with two wins against the reigning top-ranked player, having beaten Simona Halep in 2018 at Wimbledon and then Naomi Osaka in 2019 at Miami.
Ashleigh Barty sets the tone in her opening match
Barty faced unseeded Danka Kovinic in the first round and only needed 44 minutes to roll to a 6-0, 6-0 win. Barty won 50 of the 60 points in the match, including the first 16. The last time an Australian had won an match at this tournament without conceding a game was in 1985, when Wendy Turnbull pulled it off. This was the first time Barty had pulled off such a dominant sweep.
Serena Williams looks dominant as well
Nina Stojanovic looked tough in the first set of her second-round loss to Serena Williams, falling 6-3. However, Williams shifted gears and delivered a 6-0 lesson in the second set. If she can keep that dominant form going throughout the bracket, it could be tough for anyone to get in her way.
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