Madison Keys began her Australian Open title defence with a nervy 7-6(6) 6-1 victory over Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova on Tuesday, while fellow American Ben Shelton defeated Ugo Humbert in a battle of lefthanders to reach the second round.
Long queues formed outside Melbourne Park for a third straight morning with many keen to watch Jannik Sinner, who faces Hugo Gaston in his first hurdle towards winning a third straight title at the year’s opening Grand Slam.
A year on from her triumph on the blue courts Down Under, Keys was in all kinds of trouble early on at Rod Laver Arena in her opener against Oliynykova, who was appearing at a Grand Slam for the first time.
A double break down thanks to some untimely double faults, Keys trailed 4-0 before fighting back, drawing level at 4-4, but the American was dragged into a tiebreak where the unorthodox Oliynykova caused chaos with her deep, looping shots.
Oliynykova brought up two set points but Keys erased the deficit with some trademark big-hitting to eventually snatch a tense tiebreak, punctuating her escape with a roar.
–Reuters–
