Rusty Zheng Qinwen into second round as Grand Slam tennis, rain return to Melbourne

MELBOURNE: Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen fought her way into the second round of the Australian Open with a 7-6(3) 6-1 win over Anca Todoni on Sunday as crowds flocked through the gates at Melbourne Park for the first Grand Slam of 2025.

The fans were sent scurrying for cover inside the first hour when a dramatic thunderstorm swept across the precinct but Zheng and Todoni continued their baseline battle under the closed roof of the Rod Laver Arena.

Zheng’s last competitive match on the main showcourt was her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in the 2024 final and tall Romanian qualifier Todoni ensured her return was not as comfortable as she might have hoped.

Olympic champ Zheng says ‘getting closer’ to top-ranked Sabalenka

The Chinese fifth seed, who did not play a warm-up tournament, finally broke for 4-3 in the opening set but Todoni toughed it out, battling through four deuces to hold serve before breaking back for 5-5 and earning a set point.

Zheng saved the set point then took the tiebreaker 7-3 and quickly raced to a 3-0 lead in the second set while Todoni, who had treatment on her back, racked up unforced errors as she fought in vain to stay in the contest.

“The first match is never easy and I made some stupid mistakes,” said 22-year-old Zheng, who is looking to emulate compatriot Li Na’s 2014 triumph in Melbourne.

“There’s more and more pressure (on me but) I think deal good with the pressure and, as Billie Jean King said, pressure is a privilege. Let’s keep going playing with pressure.”

Mirra Andreeva was earlier the first player to reach the second round at the 113th edition of the championships when the 17-year-old Russian beat Czech Marie Bouzkova 6-3 6-3.

The rain persisted to keep the players off the outer courts but a fixture backlog is less likely since an extra day was added to the tournament last year.

Favourite Sabalenka begins her quest for a third straight title against 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens in the opening match of the evening session on Rod Laver Arena.

On the men’s side, second seed Alexander Zverev and Japan’s former world number four Kei Nishikori were in action on day one but Australian fans will have to wait until Monday for the return of home favourite Nick Kyrgios.

“I’m interested in Nick and seeing what he can do from a comeback point of view,” Melbourne local Gian Pianezzola told Reuters TV. “But look, I think we just enjoy watching tennis so it doesn’t really matter who wins or who loses.”