BREAKING: Novak Djokovic Out, #AustralianOpen Begins—The world No. 1 men’s tennis player, Novak Djokovic is gone but, would you believe it, the world is still turning and that means finally there is some actual main draw grand slam tennis to talk about.
Australian Open finally begins at Melbourne Park after a chaotic and controversial build-up dominated by the visa saga that engulfed world number one Novak Djokovic
Of course, the shadow cast by the saga very much remains over Melbourne Park, and Djokovic will remain a hot topic for some time to come, but at least the presence of the likes of Naomi Osaka, Rafael Nadal and Ash Barty on court today will help return focus to the actual game of tennis.
Osaka, the reigning Australian Open champion, kicks off her title defence second up on Rod Laver Arena, where play starts today at 11am local time, midnight in the UK and 7pm in New York.
The Japanese returns from a mental health break with what should be a straightforward opener against Colombia’s world No. 53 Camila Osorio. Nadal follows, not before 2pm AEDT, against Marcos Giron of the US, as the Spaniard begins his bid to to move out on his own as the winner of 21 grand slams, before women’s world No 1 and home hope Ash Barty gets the evening session under way against Ukrainian qualifier Lesia Tsurenko. Plus plenty more around the grounds throughout the day, of course.
Developing Story…..
