Russia's Maria Sharapova suffered a defeat at the hands of Donna Vekic from Croatia, losing 3-6, 4-6. During the second day of the 2020 Australian Open in Melbourne, the former World No. 1 appeared to struggle with the tempo of the rallies.
Maria Sharapova the Russian tennis player, was defeated by Croatian player Donna Vekic as 3-6,4-6. Sharapova the World No: 1 tennis champion was seen striving with the passes between the player, at the day 2 Melbourne AO2020 match.
Vekic dominated early, establishing a 4-1 lead before Sharapova could mount a challenge. Given that the Russian star was returning from a shoulder injury, the lack of competitive play likely hindered her performance. This was a stark contrast to their matchup at the 2018 French Open, where Sharapova won 7-5, 6-4.
Also on the same day, Karolina Pliskova competed against Kristina Mladenovic at the Rod Laver Arena on January 21, 2020. The World No. 2 proved too strong, securing a victory with a score of 6-1, 7-5.
Pliskova acknowledged that Mladenovic was a tough opponent, even though the Czech player jumped to an early 4-0 lead. The second set was a back-and-forth battle, with the score tied at 2-2, 3-3, and 4-4. Ultimately, Mladenovic's unforced errors during key points gave Pliskova the opening she needed to win the set 7-5 and progress further into the AO2020 bracket.
In the men's singles on day two of the 2020 Australian Open, Rafael Nadal secured a win over Hugo Dellien. Nadal took control of the first set immediately, jumping to a 2-0 lead by hitting precise shots into open spaces that Dellien couldn't reach. Although the Bolivian player eventually found his footing and started returning shots more effectively, the pressure of facing Nadal led to several mistakes, resulting in a 6-2 first set for the Spaniard.
Nadal's dominant performance showed his determination to move past his previous final-round loss to Novak Djokovic. As the match continued, the second set started evenly at 1-1, but Nadal's pinpoint serving soon broke Dellien's momentum, pushing the score to 6-3.
The final set began with a brief moment of hope for Dellien, who held a slight lead of 15-0. However, Nadal quickly shut that down and dominated the remainder of the match. The 33-year-old Spaniard finished strong, winning the final set 6-0 to sweep the match. Reflecting on his pre-season preparation, Nadal noted that he expected the Bolivian player to be a challenging opponent.