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TENNIS: AUSTRALIAN OPEN

TENNIS

Wawrinka starts title defence with victory

Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka returned to Rod Laver Arena where his life changed completely last year to get his Australian Open title defence off to a winning start on Tuesday.

Wawrinka starts title defence with victory
Photo: STRDL/AFP

The fourth seed, who upset Rafael Nadal in the 2014 final, ripped through Turkey's Marsel Ilhan 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 in one hour, 29 minutes to safely negotiate the first hurdle.
   
Wawrinka had few problems breaking the 100th-ranked Ilhan's serve five times and was to play either Romanian Marius Copil or Spaniard Pablo Andujar in the second round.
   
The big-serving Swiss has now not lost in the first round in ten appearances at the Australian Open.
   
"The first Grand Slam of the year is never easy, but I'm happy with the way I played today," Wawrinka said.
   
"It was great to be back on Rod Laver Arena again, it brings back so many memories from last year," he said.

"It was such an amazing two weeks so it was great to come back here and I am pleased with my game in general and I'm excited to start again," Wawrinka said.
   
"I feel that I have a lot of support here and it's always nice to come back like that and to feel the crowd behind you."
   
But Wawrinka said he was not getting too far ahead of himself with a potential quarterfinal against Japanese star Kei Nishikori and beyond that a semifinal with world number one Novak Djokovic, who he beat in last year's quarterfinals.
   
"For sure it's great, but it's still the beginning of the tournament," he said.

"First round — it's just one match, now I need to be ready for the next one."

Wawrinka will face more difficult challenges ahead than were presented by Ilhan as he hit 34 winners and won 82 percent of his first serves.
   
It was a defining year in 2014 for Wawrinka.
   
He powered up the rankings to end the season as world number four with a 39-17 match record, not only winning his maiden Grand Slam but also helping his home nation claim the Davis Cup along with close friend Roger Federer.
   
Wawrinka said it had been unbelievable time, but was now in the past.
   
"It was a crazy 2014 for me, winning a Grand Slam, Masters 1000, finishing with the Davis Cup trophy," he said.
   
"That's something amazing as a tennis player, something that you can only dream about.

"For sure it changed a lot."

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ROGER FEDERER

Is this the end of the road for Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer?

Roger Federer is talking optimistically about returning to his "highest level" after knee surgery, but does tennis have to start adjusting to a future without the Swiss star?

Is this the end of the road for Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer?
Is it the end of the line for Roger? Photo: Martin BUREAU / AFP

The 20-time Grand Slam winner announced on Wednesday that he would be sidelined until 2021 after his second operation in a matter of months.

Federer remains upbeat, tweeting: “I plan to take the necessary time to be 100 percent ready to play at my highest level.”

In some ways 2020 is a good season to miss after the coronavirus ravaged the tennis schedule. Writing Federer off in the past has proved dangerous.

He returned from a six-month injury lay-off to claim the Australian Open in 2017, winning his eighth Wimbledon crown later that year.

But he will be 40 in 2021 and is now heading into uncharted territory.

Despite his groaning trophy cabinet, there are two factors that will motivate Federer to keep going — the risk of losing his grip on the men's Grand Slam title record and a missing Olympics singles gold medal.

Rafael Nadal has 19 majors, just one shy of Federer's mark and Djokovic has 17.

Spain's Nadal will be fancied to draw level with Federer at the French Open, rescheduled for September, while few would bet against Djokovic winning in New York weeks earlier.

In April, Federer said he was “devastated” when Wimbledon was cancelled for the first time since World War II. Last year he fell agonisingly short at the All England Club, failing to convert two championship points on his own serve against Djokovic.

The Wimbledon grass probably remains his best chance of adding to his Grand Slam collection — he has not won the US Open since 2008 and his only title at Roland Garros came in 2009.

Even though Federer has slipped from the very pinnacle of the game, he is still a major threat to Nadal and Djokovic.

'Golden' ambitions

Last year, the world number four had a 53-10 win-loss record and he reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open in January in his only tournament this year.

Federer, who is still six ATP titles short of Jimmy Connors' all-time record of 109, has one glaring omission from his CV — the Olympic title.

The Swiss won doubles gold in Beijing in 2008 with compatriot Stan Wawrinka but lost in the singles final to Andy Murray in London four years later.

The postponed Tokyo Games will almost certainly be Federer's last opportunity to complete a career “golden” Grand Slam — he will turn 40 on the day of the closing ceremony next year.

Tennis will feel the loss of the elegant Federer keenly when he walks off the court for the last time.

Djokovic and Nadal have been the dominant forces in recent years but the Swiss remains the biggest draw and last month topped Forbes' list of the world's highest-earning athletes.

His last appearance on court was in front of nearly 52,000 fans — touted by organisers as a world record for tennis — at a charity match against Nadal in Cape Town in February.

Federer is nearly always the crowd favourite wherever he plays and has proved a perfect ambassador for the sport since he won his first Grand Slam title in 2003.

He certainly expects to be back and competitive next year.

“I will be missing my fans and the tour dearly but I will look forward to seeing everyone back on tour at the start of the 2021 season,” he tweeted.

The avalanche of support from his adoring fans showed they would miss him too, but they will have to get used to a time when he is gone for good.

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