Australian Open Day 1 women’s recap: Williams, Li dole out lessons to youngsters, misery continues for Kvitova

Serena Williams gestures during her 1st round victory over Ashleigh Barty on Day 1 of the 2014 Australian Open

The women’s section, as it often is, was far less predictable than the men’s on the first day of the 2014 Australian Open, as it witnessed shock exits, routine wins, and an unceremonious first-round exit for a former great all rolled into one, providing a real mixed bag on the opening day.

While Serena Williams and two-time runner-up Li Na made light work of their rookie opponents, it was a torrid day for sixth and seventh seeds Petra Kvitova and Sara Errani, as their Australian Open sojourns ended far sooner than expected. All was not lost though for the young brigade as Eugenie Bouchard and Madison Keys managed to win their opening matches. On the other hand, former World No. 1 Venus Williams tried valiantly but her efforts were not enough as she fell to Russian Ekaterina Makarova.

Serena Williams, just like her fellow top seed in the men’s draw, found herself up against local hope and potential future star Ashleigh Barty in the opening round. Barty, who is being touted for big things in the future, was always up against tremendous odds against the five-time Australian Open champion and was served a lesson as she succumbed to a 6-2, 6-1 loss. Crowd favourite Li Na also found herself with a tricky encounter against last year’s girls’ singles champion Ana Konjuh, but managed to get through with aplomb, bageling her in the second set for a 6-2, 6-0 victory.

But former Wimbledon champion and World No. 1 Petra Kvitova left her fans plunged into more despair as she continued her downward spiral, suffering an incomprehensible loss to 20-year-old Thai Luksika Khumkhum. Khumkhum, whose major claim thus far had been appearing in the ‘Gangnam style’ video with Laura Robson and Eugenie Bouchard, played out of her skin to record her biggest victory to date, winning a tight three-setter 6-2, 1-6, 6-4. Sara Errani and her doubles partner Roberta Vinci also suffered embarrassing first-round exits, the former falling to once top 20 player Julia ‘Gorgeous’ Gorges, and Vinci being outdone by Chinese Jie Zheng.

It was a sad day for American tennis, with one of their greatest players, Venus Williams being bundled out of the tournament in the first round, in what may be her last appearance at Melbourne Park. The older Williams sister won the first set, but could not sustain her form as she lost 6-2, 4-6, 4-6 to Russian Ekaterina Makarova. Another former World No. 1 Ana Ivanovic, though, seems like a new player this year and got through a tough match, winning 6-4, 6-4 against Dutch player Kiki Bertens.

With Konjuh and Barty losing to their far more illustrious opponents, it was a mixed day for the other youngsters in the fray. Brits Laura Robson and Heather Watson ensured that British expectations would be focused firmly on Andy Murray as they both lost their opening matches, the former to Kirsten Flipkens and the latter to Slovak veteran Daniela Hantuchova. Eugenie Bouchard and Lauren Davis though ensured that tennis’ future stars would still have a say in the tournament as they won against Tang Hauchen and Patricia Mayr respectively.

Aussie fans may have suffered disappointment with Barty’s exit, but had plenty to cheer about in other matches as former US Open champion Sam Stosur and Casey Dellaqua endeared themselves to the crowd with victories in their opening matches. Stosur managed to beat Klara Zakopalova 6-3, 6-4 while Dellaqua recorded an impressive 6-2, 6-2 win over former World No. 2 Vera Zvonareva.

Day 2 at the Australian Open will see two-time defending champion Victoria Azarenka and former champion Maria Sharapova open their campaigns against Johanna Larsson and Bethanie Mattek-Sands respectively while Agnieszka Radwanska, Caroline Wozniacki and last year’s surprise semifinalist Sloane Stephens will also feature in what promises to be an exciting day of tennis.