Asian tennis stars Li, Nishikori make bright starts

MELBOURNE (AFP) –

China’s Li Na hits a return against Kazakhstan’s Sesil Karatantcheva (unseen) during their women’s singles first round match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 14, 2013. Li remains the best bet for an Asian winner as she cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 win over Karatantcheva.

Former finalist Li Na and Japan’s Kei Nishikori made encouraging starts on Monday as they kicked off their campaigns to become the Grand Slam tournament’s first Asian winners.

Li, revitalised under coach Carlos Rodriguez, made short work of Kazak outsider Sesil Karatantcheva, while Nishikori beat Romania’s Victor Hanescu to reach the second round.

Taiwanese qualifier Chan Yung-jan pulled off a huge upset when she beat Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova in three sets, although her compatriot Chang Kai-chen lost out to local favourite Samantha Stosur.

Elsewhere, Japan’s Misaki Doi beat Petra Martic to reach round two, and Zheng Jie won an all-Chinese match with Zhang Yuxuan.

Japan’s Kei Nishikori plays a stroke to Romania’s Victor Hanescu (unseen) during their men’s singles match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 14, 2013.

However, Li remains the best bet for an Asian winner and she showed positive signs in a 6-1, 6-3 win over Karatantcheva, as she seeks to do better than runner-up in 2011 and fourth round last year.

“It’s always tough in the first round. You just come to the court 50/50. You never know whether you can beat her or you can lose. Everyone is the same,” said Li, who will play Belarus’s Olga Govortsova in the next round.

Nishikori eased worries over a knee injury which forced him out of the Brisbane International when he came through in four sets against Hanescu, ranked 63.

The world number 18, whose run to last year’s quarter-finals was the best ever Grand Slam performance by a Japanese man, will face Argentina’s Carlos Berlocq as his next opponent.

“Of all the Grand Slams I feel more comfortable playing here,” he said. “Oceania is almost Asia and you could see at the match today there was a lot of Japanese and people from Asia who came along and I felt a lot of support.”

Taiwan’s Chang Kai-Chen hits a return to Australia’s Samantha Stosur (unseen) during their women’s singles match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 14, 2013. Chang Kai-chen lost out to local favourite Samantha Stosur.

Nishikori offered his support for Wu Di, 21, the world number 186, who will become the first Chinese man to play in a Grand Slam tournament when he faces Croatia’s Ivan Dodig on Tuesday.

“He’s playing well. He’s still young. Nothing to lose for him, so he should play loose,” Nishikori said. “And, of course, he will want to win here, but if he does well, then the result will come.”

China is increasingly in focus on the tennis circuit with the Women’s Tennis Association replacing Japan’s premier tournament with a new event in Wuhan next year — one of five on Chinese territory.

Tennis Australia is microblogging updates from the Australian Open on Chinese social media sites, and for the first time, a group of Chinese children are performing as ballboys and girls.

Australia’s Samantha Stosur celebrates after beating Taiwan’s Chang Kai-Chen (unseen) in their women’s singles match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 14, 2013.

“I’m a little bit nervous because it’s my first time playing a Grand Slam,” Wu told AFP. “Everybody is coming, my boss, my coach and everything. It’s a little bit more pressure for me but I try to turn my pressure into motivation.”

Meanwhile Somdev Devvarman, one of a group of Indian rebels who have made themselves unavailable for the Davis Cup in a dispute over conditions and prize money, surged into the second round with a straight-sets win over Bjorn Phau.

“I’ve been enjoying the dispute, speaking honestly,” Devvarman said. “It’s the first time in a long time that all the players on the Indian tennis scene, pretty much, are on really good terms with each other.”