Back to Day 4 preview: Azarenka, Nishikori, Muguruza headline

Day 4 preview: Azarenka, Nishikori, Muguruza headline

6 January 2016, by Dan Imhoff

It had been four months since she contested a match on tour, yet the rust rarely surfaced in Victoria Azarenka’s 2016 debut on Pat Rafter Arena Monday night.

The two-time Australian Open champion and former No.1 was ruthless in her 6-2, 6-0 dismissal of Russian qualifier Elena Vesnina first up and returns today to the arena where she bagged her first WTA Tour title seven years ago.

Belgian lucky loser Ysaline Bonaventure is her opponent, a replacement for the injured Simona Halep.

Asked about her fitness after the opening test, Azarenka said: “It’s definitely a lot better than the last three years I would say. There is always a little bit of an adjustment of the match play, reaction and rustiness but it’s a good start. Let’s see where it takes me.”

Azarenka, now ranked No.22, was runner-up in Doha last season on the steady trail back from an injury-marred 2014. The pair has never met.

Japanese No.2 seed Kei Nishikori will contest his first match of 2016 when he takes on Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin for a quarterfinal berth. The 2014 US Open runner-up won titles in Memphis and Barcelona last season, reaching the quarterfinals or better in 10 of his first 11 tournaments. He fell in the semifinals here last year. Nishikori will carry a 3-0 head-to-head record against the world No.65, a player who made his first tour final last year in Sydney as a qualifier.

Rising Austrian 22-year-old Dominic Thiem returns today after downing Aussie James Duckworth in three sets yesterday. The No.8 seed – the youngest player in the top 20 – won his first three titles in 2015 in Nice, Umag and Gstaad and will start favourite when he meets world No.69 Denis Kudla for the first time. The Ukrainian-born American reached a semifinal in Atlanta and as a wildcard reached the fourth round at Wimbledon.

Twelve months ago, Garbine Muguruza’s Brisbane debut was over before it began after rolling her ankle in practice. Now, after a breakout season, the 21-year-old enters her first match of 2016 with American Varvara Lepchenko, having surged to world No.3. The Venezuelan-born Spaniard reached her maiden grand slam final at Wimbledon in 2015, defeating Lepchenko in the first round en route. She went on a tear in China, winning the title in Beijing and reaching the final in Wuhan. Lepchenko’s best results came in Stanford and here in Brisbane where she reached the semifinals.

Bernard Tomic will fly the flag as Australia’s sole remaining singles representative at this year’s event when he meets 2009 champion, Radek Stepanek, tonight. The 18th-ranked Tomic comes off his best season to date where he defended his title in Bogota but will be searching for his first win on his fourth attempt against the 37-year-old Czech. Tomic was convincing in his win over 33-year-old Nicolas Mahut last night. Stepanek’s first round win at Roland Garros made him the oldest player to win a main draw match there since Jimmy Connors in 1991.