Australian Open: Simona Halep stunned as Venus Williams progresses
Monday 16 January 2017 13:16, UK
World No 4 Simona Halep was knocked out on the opening day of the Australian Open while veteran Venus Williams insisted she was not in town for the "kicks and giggles" as she progressed to the second round.
On a sweltering day in Victoria, Halep needed medical attention because of a problem with her left knee before succumbing 6-3 6-1 to 24-year-old American Shelby Rogers, ranked 48 places below her.
The Romanian said: "I can play about 45, 50 minutes without pain. And then it comes.
"I didn't see the doctor yet. I need an MRI. I probably need some time off to get it recovered, because it's difficult to play with the pain."
Williams, a finalist in Melbourne in 2003, battled past Ukraine's Kateryna Kozlova 7-6 (7-5) 7-5.
"It's never easy in the first round," said the American 13th seed. "I was just trying to find my rhythm. It was not easy so I'm happy to be through."
Williams next faces either Swiss qualifier Stefanie Voegele or Japan's Kurumi Nara.
Defending champion and top seed Angelique Kerber battled her nerves and a stuttering second set before finally overcoming Lesia Tsurenko 6-2 5-7 6-2 to reach the second round.
"The first round is always tough. I'm just trying to enjoy it and I'm so so happy to be in the second round. Everything started for me here in 2016," said Kerber who also claimed the US Open title in September .
CoCo Vandeweghe overcame the heat and illness to beat 15th-seeded Roberta Vinci 6-1, 7-6 having slumped to her knees before receiving help from medical staff during the second set.
"I don't know what was happening," she said. "It wasn't the heat or anything. I just started feeling nauseous. I can't thank you guys (the crowd) enough for pushing me through that."
French Open champion Garbine Muguruza beat New Zealand's Marina Erakovic 7-5 6-4 despite also requiring a medical time-out in the first set.
Australian teen Destanee Aiava became the first player born in this millennium to play at a major, but there was no dream ending as the 16-year-old fell 6-3 7-6 to German qualifier Mona Barthel.
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