- Updates from the second day of tennis at Melbourne Park
- Muted Open begins missing its usual buzz
- Any thoughts? Email or tweet @mike_hytner
So to Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard has not won the title at Melbourne Park since 2009 but is gunning to break that streak this year and at the same time move clear of Roger Federer in the all-time grand slam winners list with a 21st title.
But there’s a problem – the world No 2 has a back injury that he has been suffering from for the past fortnight and that forced him out of last week’s ATP Cup. So not only is his on-court movement restricted, he is also lacking match practice.
Nadal and Djere are out on court, but let’s quickly catch up on today’s major events so far.
We’re two matches in on Rod Laver Arena; both were over in two sets, but the results for Sofia Kenin and Elina Svitolina barely tell the tale of the tape. The record books will show defending champion Kenin beat Australian wildcard Maddison Inglis in straight sets, but it wasn’t a walk in the park for this year’s fourth seed. Inglis broke twice and had a 3-1 lead early on before pushing Kenin all the way in the American’s 7-5, 6-4 win.
.@SofiaKenin was feeling all the emotions as she stepped foot on Rod Laver Arena for the first time since she won the #AusOpen last year ❤️#AO2021 pic.twitter.com/GttutyagGN
