MELBOURNE – Sofia Kenin made a nervous start to her Australian Open defence Tuesday, but ailing former champion Victoria Azarenka crashed out after needing treatment for breathing difficulties during a straight-sets defeat.
Kenin edged through 7-5, 6-4 against Australian Maddison Inglis, who is ranked outside the top 100, and vented her frustration verbally throughout a tetchy first round.
“I’m obviously not happy with the way I played,” said Kenin, who made 27 unforced errors on her return to Rod Laver Arena.
The 22-year-old won her maiden Grand Slam a year ago against Garbine Muguruza, who turned the tables to beat Kenin in a warm-up tournament last week and had little trouble in dispatching Russia’s Margarita Gasparyan 6-4, 6-0…
