Dubai Telegraph - Nadal lights up Melbourne, Barty and Osaka on collision course

EUR -
AED 4.02547
AFN 78.958383
ALL 99.102869
AMD 431.181955
ANG 1.961978
AOA 1003.890567
ARS 1184.765046
AUD 1.813586
AWG 1.97271
AZN 1.867466
BAM 1.955265
BBD 2.22659
BDT 133.983319
BGN 1.957778
BHD 0.412787
BIF 3277.602688
BMD 1.09595
BND 1.474296
BOB 7.619914
BRL 6.405394
BSD 1.102698
BTN 94.079244
BWP 15.358795
BYN 3.608812
BYR 21480.619234
BZD 2.215094
CAD 1.559263
CDF 3148.664634
CHF 0.944431
CLF 0.02729
CLP 1047.223301
CNY 7.980215
CNH 7.994999
COP 4582.945323
CRC 557.847278
CUC 1.09595
CUP 29.042674
CVE 110.234821
CZK 25.256829
DJF 196.376238
DKK 7.461451
DOP 69.640934
DZD 146.03502
EGP 55.406831
ERN 16.439249
ETB 145.347308
FJD 2.537019
FKP 0.847795
GBP 0.850992
GEL 3.01429
GGP 0.847795
GHS 17.092321
GIP 0.847795
GMD 78.364643
GNF 9543.387299
GTQ 8.51067
GYD 230.706839
HKD 8.520518
HNL 28.214276
HRK 7.531044
HTG 144.290497
HUF 405.95125
IDR 18351.682095
ILS 4.102536
IMP 0.847795
INR 93.739724
IQD 1444.604509
IRR 46139.49374
ISK 144.852129
JEP 0.847795
JMD 173.912388
JOD 0.776923
JPY 161.033451
KES 142.530979
KGS 95.094267
KHR 4414.791359
KMF 493.729615
KPW 986.361205
KRW 1599.550347
KWD 0.337323
KYD 0.918948
KZT 559.11693
LAK 23885.460858
LBP 98806.249733
LKR 326.960488
LRD 220.54962
LSL 21.028443
LTL 3.236056
LVL 0.66293
LYD 5.33354
MAD 10.502325
MDL 19.485665
MGA 5113.600046
MKD 61.518158
MMK 2300.919896
MNT 3846.361639
MOP 8.828083
MRU 43.97796
MUR 48.956499
MVR 16.881727
MWK 1912.176502
MXN 22.397605
MYR 4.862772
MZN 70.042575
NAD 21.028443
NGN 1679.894432
NIO 40.578891
NOK 11.801632
NPR 150.52679
NZD 1.958628
OMR 0.421635
PAB 1.102798
PEN 4.052091
PGK 4.551754
PHP 62.891131
PKR 309.568949
PLN 4.273706
PYG 8840.579707
QAR 4.019799
RON 4.977847
RSD 117.117937
RUB 92.974546
RWF 1589.164933
SAR 4.112539
SBD 9.114284
SCR 15.716697
SDG 658.12198
SEK 10.951065
SGD 1.474715
SHP 0.861245
SLE 24.933268
SLL 22981.523891
SOS 630.227462
SRD 40.162734
STD 22683.951476
SVC 9.649358
SYP 14249.994157
SZL 21.036241
THB 37.713872
TJS 12.003414
TMT 3.835825
TND 3.376876
TOP 2.566829
TRY 41.607525
TTD 7.469955
TWD 36.360884
TZS 2949.992378
UAH 45.388374
UGX 4030.896458
USD 1.09595
UYU 46.647229
UZS 14248.099286
VES 76.89351
VND 28280.988741
VUV 134.896075
WST 3.078778
XAF 655.777467
XAG 0.037037
XAU 0.000361
XCD 2.96186
XDR 0.815577
XOF 655.777467
XPF 119.331742
YER 269.220506
ZAR 20.960317
ZMK 9864.868719
ZMW 30.57363
ZWL 352.89544
  • RELX

    -3.2800

    48.16

    -6.81%

  • NGG

    -3.4600

    65.93

    -5.25%

  • VOD

    -0.8700

    8.5

    -10.24%

  • GSK

    -2.4800

    36.53

    -6.79%

  • RBGPF

    69.0200

    69.02

    +100%

  • SCS

    -0.0600

    10.68

    -0.56%

  • CMSC

    0.0300

    22.29

    +0.13%

  • CMSD

    0.1600

    22.83

    +0.7%

  • JRI

    -0.8600

    11.96

    -7.19%

  • BCC

    0.8100

    95.44

    +0.85%

  • RYCEF

    -1.5500

    8.25

    -18.79%

  • BTI

    -2.0600

    39.86

    -5.17%

  • BCE

    0.0500

    22.71

    +0.22%

  • RIO

    -3.7600

    54.67

    -6.88%

  • AZN

    -5.4600

    68.46

    -7.98%

  • BP

    -2.9600

    28.38

    -10.43%

Nadal lights up Melbourne, Barty and Osaka on collision course
Nadal lights up Melbourne, Barty and Osaka on collision course

Nadal lights up Melbourne, Barty and Osaka on collision course

Rafael Nadal steps up his march towards a record 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open on Wednesday, with Ashleigh Barty and Naomi Osaka also taking centre stage.

Text size:

Defending champion Osaka and Wimbledon winner Barty will be one victory away from colliding if both come through their second-round encounters unscathed.

Japan's Osaka, who has won two Australian and two US Opens, faces American Madison Brengle in the night session on Rod Laver Arena.

Red-hot Barty, the top seed and home hope, comes up against Italian qualifier Lucia Bronzetti in an early afternoon encounter.

Nadal, who recently won his first tournament after five months out battling a foot injury, was highly impressive in racing past American Marcos Giron in straight sets on Monday to open his campaign.

"I am super-happy about all the work that we have done to try to be back. We are here enjoying the tennis," said the Spanish sixth seed, who will face German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann after Barty's match ends.

Nadal's half of the draw was made easier when the unvaccinated nine-time champion Novak Djokovic was thrown out of Australia.

- In the mood -

The ultra-consistent Barty, who won a warm-up tournament in Adelaide, hasn't dropped her serve for 41 straight games over four matches and destroyed Lesia Tsurenko 6-0, 6-1 on Monday.

"I think obviously the last five or six matches I felt like I found a really good rhythm on my service games," said the Australian, who is chasing a first home Grand Slam.

Osaka beat American Jennifer Brady in last year's Melbourne Park final, but then withdrew from the French Open and Wimbledon over mental health issues. She took an indefinite break after the US Open in September.

But the 24-year-old said she felt much more positive after her first-round win over Colombia's Camila Osorio.

"I just want to have fun, first of all," said the 13th seed.

"I can't expect myself to win every match, but I do expect myself to have fun and challenge myself."

Men's third seed Alexander Zverev is looking to follow his Olympic gold in Tokyo last year with a first Grand Slam title.

He safely came through a tricky late-night first-round clash against fellow German Daniel Altmaier despite not being at his best.

"It's the first round of hopefully a very long Grand Slam, you are not always going to play your best tennis," said the 24-year-old.

He will play Australia's John Millman, who will garner plenty of partisan vocal support in another late-night encounter on Rod Laver Arena.

French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova was ruthless in her dismissal of German veteran Andrea Petkovic 6-2, 6-0 in the first round, and a repeat of that form should see her past China's world number 100 Wang Xiyu.

Spanish eighth seed Paula Badosa, who beat Krejcikova in a three-set thriller to win the Sydney warm-up tournament, opens proceedings at 11:00am (0000 GMT) against Italian qualifier Martina Trevisan.

On the men's side, seventh seed Matteo Berrettini, who endured frequent toilet trips in a gutsy four-set win on Monday, will hope he doesn't need to reach for the Imodium again when he comes up against American qualifier Stefan Kozlov.

G.Mukherjee--DT