Alcaraz, Sabalenka through to second round; Venus Williams loses

Sabalenka surprisingly dropped serve to begin her first-round clash with French wildcard Tiantsoa “Sarah” Rakotomanga Rajaonah, but stormed back to the top and clinched the 6-4, 6-1 victory.

The double Australian Open champion is trying to become the first woman to reach four consecutive finals at Melbourne Park since Martina Hingis reached six consecutive finals from 1997-2002.

“I’m trying to focus on myself and if I can [make another final]”It will mean a lot to me,” Sabalenka said. “But I try to take it one step at a time and put out my best tennis every time.”

Walton was far from out of favor against six-time major champion Alcaraz, but ultimately fell short, especially when she failed to take advantage of a break in the second set.

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The 81st-ranked Queenslander has occasionally feuded with Alcaraz and impressed Jim Courier enough to predict he could be a top 50 player in the future.

But Walton will come to rue the loose second-set tiebreak in which he hit a lofty volley and committed two double faults, one on set point.

Alcaraz sprinkled in some typically daring highlights throughout the night, including a ‘tweener’ after being caught out of position. He lost the point, but Walton nodded and grinned at his opponent’s genius.

Even better was when Alcaraz volleyed a backhand winner midway through the second set, followed by digging in a tough half-volley. He batted 38 winners in total.

Alcaraz’s celebrations also broke box office records. He wagged his index finger after said volley and the veins in his toned arms were popping as he shook his fist forcefully after smothering a forehand winner to put Walton up 5-3 in the first set.

Next up for Alcaraz is the master German Yannick Hanfmann, who beat American Zachary Svajda in four sets.

Earlier, Sabalenka had put on a clinic attacking the internet as grand slam legends Federer and Laver watched from the front row.

The ever-improving Belarusian superstar told everyone in Brisbane that he wants to get in the net more this year, and his win over Rakotomanga Rajaonah wasn’t just false proof.

Sabalenka has stepped up 22 times and won 16 of those net attacks, including serve and volleys, and continues to add to her formidable arsenal.

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After politely asking Jelena Dokic during her on-court interview, he capped off the night’s work by taking a post-match “selfie” with Laver and Federer.

“I was definitely working on serve and volley. I’m so happy I was able to do that in the match,” Sabalenka said.

“In practice [court] It’s one thing, but being able to go to a match without fear is another. “I’m really proud to be able to show this tennis.”

Asked if Federer’s presence had any impact on her network-heavy approach, Sabalenka joked: “Of course, I just wanted to impress Roger with my game. I couldn’t.” [a] ‘tweener, but that’s okay – next time.’

Former world No. 4 Dokic was impressed by Sabalenka’s performance and told Nine he thought it was the best move the Belarusian had ever moved, especially with her pace off the target.

Sabalenka avoided a tough rematch in last year’s quarterfinals when Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova lost 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (12-10) to Bai Zhuoxuan, who dropped to 702nd in the rankings due to back and ankle injuries in the Chinese qualifiers.

It was a promising grand slam debut for Rakotomanga Rajaonah.

There was pre-tournament uproar in some regions over the reciprocal wildcards that have given Australian, French and American players a place in the Grand Slam main draw later in the year, but Rakotomanga Rajaonah more than justified his handout.

It was only her 19th tour-level match – she was more than 500 behind Sabalenka – but the world number 118 looks ready for more slam tours and arguably on her own merit.

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