
Serena Williams eased through to the second round of the Australian Open today as she dispatched Anastasia Potapova in straight sets. However, her sister, Venus Williams, suffered another first-round exit at the hands of 15-year-old Coco Gauff.
Roger Federer made it past Steve Johnson comfortably in three sets, while reigning women’s champion Naomi Osaka and Petra Kvitova also progressed without incident.
Women’s No. 1 seed and local favorite Ashleigh Barty had to come from behind to beat Lesia Tsurenko.
Meanwhile, India’s top-ranked player Prajnesh Gunneswaran’s first-round match against Japanese Tatsuma Ito has been rescheduled for tomorrow because of rain. World No. 122 Prajnesh, who entered the main draw of the men’s singles event as a lucky loser in the qualifiers, was scheduled to play Ito, ranked 144th in the world today. If Prajnesh wins against Ito, he could face World No. 2 Novak Djokovic in the second round.
This is Prajnesh’s fifth straight appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam event having earlier played in the Wimbledon, French Open and the US Open due to his better rankings.