MELBOURNE — Serena Williams tumbled to the court and needed a medical timeout in the first set for treatment on her right ankle. Once she got up, it was all over for Edina Gallovits-Hall.
Williams routed Gallovits-Hall 6-0, 6-0 in the first round of the Australian Open today despite the scary sequence in the first part of the match.
The No. 3-ranked Williams is favored to win the season’s first major, rolling into Melbourne Park with 35 wins in her previous 36 matches, including titles at Wimbledon, the London Olympics and the U.S. Open. But the injury could be a significant setback as she seeks a third consecutive Grand Slam title.
Williams said there was pain and swelling in her ankle and X-rays were an option, but she wanted to leave any decisions about treatment for a few hours. She gets a day off before her second-round match on Thursday.
“Oh, I’ll be out there,” she said. “I mean, unless something fatal happens to me, there’s no way I’m not going to be competing. I’m alive. My heart’s beating. I’ll be fine.”
Defending champion Victoria Azarenka also advanced, coming back from a break down in the second set to beat Monica Niculescu 6-1, 6-4 at Rod Laver Arena.
Azarenka is ranked No. 1 but has lost 11 of her 12 career matches against Williams.
Azarenka’s win was sandwiched between matches on the same court involving two of the main contenders for the men’s title. No. 3 Andy Murray won his first Grand Slam match as a major champion, beating Robin Haase of the Netherlands in straight sets, and No. 2 Roger Federer fended off Benoit Paire of France 6-2, 6-4, 6-1.
Murray beat Haase 6-3, 6-1, 6-3. Roger Federer, the No. 2 seed, downed Benoit Paire of France, 6-2, 6-4, 6-1.
Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro, the No. 6 seed, defeated French qualifier Adrian Mannarino 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.
Also advancing was No. 13 Milos Raonic of Canada.
In a record for the Australian Open, 42-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm upset No. 12-seeded Nadia Petrova of Russia 6-2, 6-0 to become the oldest woman to win a singles match at the tournament.
In other women’s matches, former No. 1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki won the last six games to beat Sabine Lisicki of Germany 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, and No. 16 Roberta Vinci and No. 17 Lucie Safarova also moved on. American teenager Sloane Stephens beat Simona Halep of Romania 6-1, 6-1.