After the end of the Corona thriller about the unvaccinated top star Novak Djokovic, the Australian Open began with early defeats by German tennis professionals. Tatjana Maria and Peter Gojowczyk said goodbye on the first day of the tournament in Melbourne after the first round.
Munich’s Gojowczyk lost clearly 3: 6, 3: 6, 3: 6 against Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi. Despite a good performance by the clearly favored Greek Maria Sakkari, Maria had to admit defeat 4:6, 6:7 (2:7).
Dominik Koepfer, on the other hand, provided a ray of hope from a German point of view and is in round two. The Black Forest defeated the Spaniard Carlos Taberner 6:1, 3:6, 6:4, 6:1. After 2:27 hours, Koepfer made his advancement perfect against number 108 in the world.
The only mother of two retires
Despite her departure, Maria believes she is on the right track. “I think I played a good match. I had a few chances that I didn’t use,” said the 34-year-old Swabian after her performance on Center Court in the Rod Laver Arena. According to the organizer, Maria is the only mother of two to compete in Melbourne. Eight-year-old Charlotte was sitting in the stands with her father and coach Charles Edouard Maria, while little Cecilia slept in the stands.
“I feel better than I have in a long time and I think that little bit that was missing today will hopefully come soon,” said the former top 50 player. At the end of July, the American-by-choice returned to the tour just four months after the birth of her second daughter.
Only three German women made it into the main draw of the first Grand Slam tournament of the season. Angelique Kerber, who triumphed in Melbourne in 2016, only gets into the action on Tuesday. In the men’s category there were nine German first-round participants – of which Gojowczyk was the first to lose.
Djokovic on the way to Belgrade
German number one Alexander Zverev meets Daniel Altmaier in a German duel this Monday (2nd game after 9 a.m. / Eurosport). The Olympic champion is aiming for the first Grand Slam title of his career. Due to the absence of Serbian world number one Djokovic, his chances have increased.
Djokovic had to leave the country on Sunday after a long back and forth due to his visa being finally declared invalid. The unvaccinated defending champion wanted to take part in the Australian Open with a medical exemption after a corona infection. However, the authorities had refused him entry to Australia. The 34-year-old Serb landed in Dubai on Monday morning, the AP news agency reported.
Meanwhile, his Spanish rival Rafael Nadal made a successful start to the Australian Open. The 35-year-old won 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 against American Marcos Giron. The fifth in the world rankings has the chance of his 21st Grand Slam title, with which he could outperform Djokovic and the pausing Swiss Roger Federer (20 each). In the women’s category, defending champion and co-favorite Naomi Osaka made it through to the second round. The former world number one from Japan beat Colombia’s Camila Osorio 6-3, 6-3. (dpa)