The former world No 1 knows what it is to stay the course at a tournament; to watch the field slowly dwindle until she is all but alone in the locker room; to hoist the trophy on finals day. She has done it 24 times in her career, most notably at Roland Garros in 2018, and again at Wimbledon the following summer. 

But as the 32-year-old Romanian played her first match in 19 months at the Miami Open, where she was beaten 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 by Paula Badosa of Spain, she was just grateful to be playing professional tennis at all. 

That looked a remote prospect last September, when Halep was handed a four-year ban after failing a drugs test at the 2022 US Open. But things have moved quickly since the court of arbitration for sport (CAS) ruled earlier this month that she was not guilty of intentional doping, the offer of a wildcard for one of the season’s bigger events proving too tempting to turn down. 

“I came just because the boost, the love for tennis, just brought me here,” said Halep. “It was fast, because it was a just few days after the decision, but I’m really happy that I did it. I came here and I felt again the love for sport.”

Perhaps inevitably, Halep’s body struggled to keep pace with her ambition. She required medical treatment on her shoulder late in the second set and, understandably after so long on the sidelines, began to fade physically in the closing stages. But nothing could dampen her mood, and she left the court just as she entered it, smiling broadly and thankful for the support shown by the Miami public.

“I would rate it as a special day, honestly, considering the period I had,” said Halep. “Playing so well, feeling so well on court, feeling so well outside of the court with so many people that are very nice to me and giving me the love, I would say that this day is going to stay very special for me. 

“Of course, I had many results in the past, big results. But here it’s something more than tennis, it’s something personal. I really love to see that people are appreciating me besides tennis, and besides everything that happened.”

The one discordant note was sounded by another former world No 1, Caroline Wozniacki, who pointed out that Halep’s ban was reduced rather than overturned, and said wildcards should not be granted in such circumstances.

“I have always wanted a clean sport, fair for everybody,” said the 33-year-old Dane. “It’s definitely still my opinion.

“This is not directly at Simona, but if someone purposely cheats, if someone has tested positive for doping… I understand why a tournament wants a big star in the tournament, but it’s my personal belief that I don’t think people should be awarded wild cards afterwards.  

“If you want to come back, and it’s been a mistake, I understand, but you should work your way up from the bottom. That’s my personal opinion. 

“Simona’s situation has obviously dragged on for a long time. She got her suspension reduced. It wasn’t a clearance, it was a reduced sentence. She’s now been off of the game for a while and she’s coming back. Again, I just hope for a clean sport. That’s all I want.”

Having first been suspended on 7 October 2022, Halep was cleared to make an immediate return to the sport after a CAS appeal panel, accepting her argument that the ingestion of a contaminated collagen supplement was behind her failed test, reduced her ban to nine months. But while the panel ruled that she was not guilty of intentional doping, they said she “did bear some level of fault or negligence for her violations, as she did not exercise sufficient care” when using the supplement.

Halep bristled when Wozniacki’s comments were put to her.

“Why did she say that?” asked the Romanian, whose lengthy absence from the game has left her without a world ranking, leaving her dependent on wildcards for the time being. “I didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t cheat. I didn’t dope. So it’s better if we read the decision from CAS that it was a contaminated supplement, it wasn’t doping. 

“I never had something to do with doping. I never doped, so I’m not a cheater. Thank you to the tournament for giving me the wild card and the possibility to play in such a big tournament. It was great to be back.  

“Only one person being negative about me is not that important, because I have hundreds of people giving me love, so I will take that.”

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Last summer, she came through qualifying to make the third round at Roland Garros and the second week of Wimbledon. By the time Andreeva arrived at Flushing Meadows, her ranking had risen by 80 places and her qualifying days were behind her. The teenager now has at least one win at each of the four slams.

A lesser talent might have sought to take her first steps in the professional game at more humble stops on the tour, but Andreeva is a young woman in a hurry. She joked last year that she hopes to win more majors than Novak Djokovic, suggesting 25 as an appropriate number. Depending on events over the next 10 days, that figure may yet have to be revised upwards, but the signs that Andreeva can compete at the highest level are encouraging, and on Wednesday in Rod Laver Arena she took another significant step forward with a 6-0, 6-2 rout of Ons Jabeur, the sixth seed.

The Russian’s performance was every bit as remarkable as that extraordinary scoreline would suggest. Andreeva eclipsed Jabeur, a veteran of three grand slam finals, in just about every way a player can be eclipsed: with her movement, consistency and powerful ball-striking, but also with her composed decision-making and variety.

As she romped to the first top-10 win of her career in just 54 minutes, Andreeva appeared utterly fearless, the only obvious sign of anxiety coming at the death, when she nervously shanked an inviting overhead long while serving for the match. That she was facing her childhood idol, on a stage where she suffered a heart-breaking loss in the junior final to her 16-year compatriot Alina Korneeva this time last year, only added to the magnitude of her achievement.

“I’m happy I played with Ons,” said Andreeva, who insisted she was “really nervous before the match”. 

“It was one of my dreams to play against her, because I really like the way she plays. I’m inspired by her, so today it meant a lot, this match that I won.”

Good as Andreeva was, Jabeur was like a magician with a misfiring wand. Her serve, both first and second, deserted her. Volleys flew long. Backhands nosedived into the net or flew wide. She had only nine winners to offset her 24 unforced errors, and the unfolding agony of a humbling defeat could be traced in her features: a pained expression after 10 minutes, a disbelieving smile as Andreeva rifled a backhand of pinpoint precision beyond her to close in on the first set, and finally, a fruitless late hold notwithstanding, a look of weary resignation. Jabeur’s innate decency shone through as she approached the net with a warm-hearted smile at the end.

“She’s so nice,” said Andreeva. “After the match, she came to me, she wished me luck. I just know that she is who she is, and she never changes. That’s what I like about her.”

The teenager will face Diane Parry of France next, with Barbora Krejcikova, the ninth seed, potentially the biggest obstacle to a place in the quarter-finals. Andreeva defeated Parry for the loss of just three games at Roland Garros last year, and has yet to lose a set against Krejcikova in two meetings. Currently ranked 47th, she is set to rise roughly a dozen places, and could go even higher. Not that she is getting carried away.

“I don’t think that I achieved something incredible, so I have time still to do that,” said Andreeva. “Sometimes when I’m lying in bed, I can overthink a little bit, but the next morning I’m totally fine. I mean, I’m 16. Why do I have to think about the rankings? I’m going a bit higher, and so my goal is to go higher and higher.”

Maria Timofeeva provided another noteworthy Russian success, prevailing 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 against Caroline Wozniacki, the 2018 champion.

“It definitely sucks and it’s disappointing,” said Wozniacki. “I felt like this was my match to win, and I didn’t. I obviously sit here with a very disappointing feeling, because looking back, I feel like the match kind of slid out of my hands.”

Coco Gauff, the US Open champion and fourth seed, survived a tough first to move into the third round with a 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 victory over Caroline Dolehide.

“She’s a tough opponent,” said Gauff of her fellow American. “She plays big, pretty much, on every shot.

“Not my best tennis, but, you know, a lot of improvement to look at for the next matches.”

The post Mirra Andreeva, 16, routs Ons Jabeur at Australian Open appeared first on Love Game Tennis.

“We can reveal exclusively here that Rafa will be back,” Tiley told the Australian broadcaster Nine. “He’s been off for most of the year and, in talking to him over the last few days, he confirmed he will be back, which we’re really excited about, the champion of 2022. That’s awesome.”

Nadal, whose haul of 22 majors includes two Australian Open titles, has not played since January, when he tore a hip flexor muscle during a second-round defeat to Mackenzie McDonald at Melbourne Park. The 37-year-old underwent surgery on the problem in early June, shortly after announcing that he will probably retire after next season, and recently offered a guarded assessment of his future, suggesting he would not be in a position to assess his plans until mid-November.

That stance was echoed by Benito Pérez-Barbadillo, Nadal’s communications manager, who confirmed that, despite Tiley’s statement to the contrary, no date has been set for his client’s comeback.

“I can confirm to you that Rafa is practising, as everyone saw on his last post on Instagram,” Pérez-Barbadillo told Reuters. “But there is no date confirmed, scheduled or programmed yet for his comeback.”

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic has responded to comments made by Nadal about their rivalry last month. In a Spanish television interview, the Spaniard suggested Djokovic would have been frustrated had he not been able to overtake him on the grand slam leaderboard. Nadal won the most recent of his 22 titles at last summer’s French Open, since when Djokovic has won a seventh Wimbledon title, a 10th Australian Open, a third French Open and a fourth US Open crown to equal Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 grand slams.

“For Novak, it is more intense,” Nadal told Movistar+. “To him, it would have been more frustrating not to get [the men’s record]. Maybe that’s why he’s achieved it.”

Djokovic sensibly sidestepped a potential war of words, emphasising his respect for the Spaniard while making it plain that he did not share his rival’s view. 

“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and how they interpret someone else in that context,” said Djokovic. “That’s all I can say. Rafa is a great champion, I greatly appreciate and respect him as a champion, as my biggest rival, as a man and a tennis player who has largely participated in shaping my game and the results I have achieved. 

“I have no intention in any way to talk in a negative context about him or Roger Federer, because my respect outweighs perhaps some negative opinions about them. That is his opinion – with which, of course, I do not agree. I have my opinion, but I won’t share it because I don’t want to deepen the topic. There is no need for that at all.”

Nadal aside, Tiley also predicted the return of a trio of former women’s champions at Melbourne Park, with Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki all trailed to appear. Osaka gave birth to her first daughter, Shai, in July, while Kerber announced the birth of her first child, Liana, in February. Wozniacki, meanwhile, reached the fourth round of the US Open after returning to the tour this summer for the first time in three years. 

“We’ll welcome them and their families back to Melbourne with open arms,” said Tiley, “and can’t wait to see what their next chapter brings.”

The Australian Open will be held over 15 days in 024 as part of an effort to reduce the number of late finishes. The problem was epitomised by Andy Murray’s epic five-set win over Thanasi Kokkinakkis this year, which raged for five hours and 45 minutes before finally ending at 4.05am, a situation that Murray branded a “farce”. Tiley is hopeful that, by reducing the number of day matches from three to two, the new Sunday start will guarantee the evening session commences on time.

“We’ve listened to feedback from players and fans and are excited to deliver a solution to minimise late finishes while continuing to provide a fair and equitable schedule on the stadium courts,” said Tiley. “The additional day will achieve this, benefiting scheduling for fans and players alike.”

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