As the tennis star entered the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne to begin her Australian Open 2026 campaign in a wide-brim hat with a long veil and a white umbrella, fans were enthralled as Naomi Osaka entered.
The two-time Australian Open champion beat Antonia Ruzic shortly after men’s defending champion Jannik Sinner entered the second round in a divisive manner against Hugo Gaston.
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Before stepping up for the pre-match formalities wearing a portion of her pleated outfit on the lower body, Osaka waved regally to the crowd, folded the parasol, and neatly put the hat and veil to the side.
For the match itself, which ended with a 6-3, 3-6, and 6-4 scoreline for the Japanese player, she was back to her more or less regular tennis kit.
The 16th seed lost a set in her final match of day three on the main show court at Melbourne Park despite having won two of her four Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open.
In the second set, she made a strong comeback, winning in two hours, 22 minutes.
Osaka claimed that her hat was embellished with a butterfly and was inspired by a jellyfish after winning.
She said in an on-court interview after the match that “the butterfly has to do with the Australian Open I won in 2021, which I guess is a long time ago.
Osaka claimed to have created the outfit’s design.
Before Gaston abruptly retired, Sinner’s quest for a third successive title on the same court drew near in ominous form as he predominated two sets.
The Italian world number two roared to a 6-2, 6-1 lead in less than an hour after defeating Carlos Alcaraz to win the ATP Finals title, racking up 19 victories on the court where he has been a former tennis player for two years.
After the first set, Frenchman Gaston took tablets to apologize and offer a handshake, but there was a rumble of surprise when he crossed to Sinner’s side after the second set, which showed something was amiss.
After comforting the Frenchman as he sobbed on his chair under a towel, Sinner said he could see Gaston was not at his best but was content with his own game.
He told reporters, “I’ve worked a lot, a lot of hours trying to improve my tennis game.”
“But ultimately, the most crucial thing is to play basketball and enjoy,” no? Opening the season with a night-session game at a Grand Slam, in a stadium full of fans, is very special.
In the third round, Sinner will face Australian James Duckworth.
Madison Keys, the reigning women’s champion, admitted to being “very nervous” as she launched her title defense against Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova 7-6 (8-6), 6-1.
The ninth seed of the United States said of once more leaving center court, “I’ve been thinking about this moment for essentially a year.
“I’m so happy to be back in Melbourne,” he said. I must admit that I was initially very anxious.
Before the Grand Slam, she admitted to feeling the weight of expectation as the defending champion after quarterfinal exits in Brisbane and Adelaide.
And so it was when she faced an impending implosion from the ranked 92 in the world before finding her feet to win the match with ease in the third set.
After a heartfelt four-set defeat to Australian qualifier Dane Sweeny, the men’s draw saw an emotional Gael Monfils bid farewell to the tournament.
In his final performance at the venue, the French entertainer lit up the court with a 6-7 (3-7), 7-5, 6-4, 7-5 scoreline in Sweeny’s favor.
The 39-year-old Monfils received a standing ovation and an on-court presentation following his statement, “Somehow it’s the finish line, but thank you so much for an amazing ride.
There are many fond memories here for me.
Monfils, who has won 13 ATP titles in a distinguished career dating back to 2004, declared that this would be his final year playing tennis.
Source: Aljazeera
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