Yeah, at this point I’m just super grateful to be back, healthy. “I had a good five-month pre-season, I would say. “I’ve prepared in the best way that I could,” Andreescu said. The former US Open champion will need to be on song, though, when she plays Mihaela Burzanescu, the Romanian was was ranked inside the top 20 just three years ago. It’s more than a year since Bianca Andreescu played a competitive match but having finally recovered from injury, the Canadian makes her return. 🎾JCA Schedule: Monday 8 February 🎾 #AusOpen /nmDJYHoyb0 She’ll be followed by former champion Angelique Kerber, seeded 23 this year, who faces American left-hander Bernarda Pera, before Petra Kvitova, the runner-up in Melbourne two years ago, takes on Belgian Greet Minnen in her opening match. It’s 23 years since Venus Williams made her debut at the Australian Open but the American is still going at the grand old age of 40 and she’ll get things going on MCA with a first-round battle against Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens. Margaret Court Arena: Venus, Kerber, Kvitova on show 🎾MCA Schedule: Monday 8 February 🎾 #AusOpen /GP1HYkMoAC But the Romanian, the runner-up in Melbourne in 2018, may find the crowd against her for once when she plays the first match of the night session against Lizette Cabrera of Australia. Second seed Simona Halep is usually a crowd favourite wherever she goes. I’m feeling very confident, I think is a better word, and getting ready for hopefully the next two weeks.” “But I’m super confident it’s going to be great. I’ve gotten a lot of treatment already on my shoulder,” she said on Saturday. But the seven-time Australian Open champion says she’s raring to go as she chases another piece of history.
The 39-year-old gave everyone a scare when she pulled out of the WTA500 warm-up event citing a shoulder injury. Serena Williams will also have to hit the ground running when she plays Laura Siegemund of Germany in the second match on Rod Laver Arena. Williams going for history Halep gets the night session Honestly I’ve never seen a projected draw come true, so I guess it will be interesting for all of us. “I like playing tough people, especially in slams. “I saw the projected draw of me and I actually, I’m kind of excited,” she said. But the 2019 Australian Open champion sounded confident as she assessed her draw, even though she pulled out of the warm-up event with a niggling shoulder issue. For Osaka, things could get tough pretty quickly as she faces big-hitting Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who has reached the quarter-finals in Melbourne in three of the past four years. Gone are the days when first-round matches were a walk in the park. Rod Laver Arena: Osaka and Serena in day session Halep at night
The women’s Australian Open begins on Monday with US Open champion Naomi Osaka kicking things off, followed by Serena Williams, beginning her quest for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title and then, in the night session, Simona Halep, chasing a first title in Melbourne.
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