Tennis
Niall SeewangJake Michaels 6y

ICYMI at Australian Open: Will Ferrell, Roger Federer and ... John McIntosh?

Tennis

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Roger Federer wasted no time showing he will again be a force at this year's Australian Open -- when isn't he? -- with the reigning champ dispatching world No. 49 Aljaz Bedene with consummate ease at Rod Laver Arena.

Federer's 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 victory Tuesday night took just more than an hour and a half and set up a second-round clash against Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany.

It continued an imposing run for Federer, who hasn't lost in the first round of a major since the 2003 French Open.

Federer was rarely troubled against Bedene, and perhaps his biggest challenge on the night was navigating the postgame interview with comedian Will Ferrell, alongside John McEnroe, er, John McIntosh, according to Ferrell. 

We could try to describe the on-court grilling here, but it's much more enjoyable just watching what took place:

The Swiss great was questioned about Ferrell's cameo in his postmatch press conference.

"[It was] a surprise. I didn't know that was going to happen," he said. "That was fun. I haven't met him a lot, to be honest. Actually I saw him when I started the match, then I totally forgot he sat there. At the end, I realized he is still actually there. That's when he walked out onto center court."


On Monday, there was bananagate, involving World No. 9 CoCo Vandeweghe's eyebrow-raising code violation during her shock loss to Timea Babos.

The next day, it was blueberrygate with Johanna Konta and a couple of punnets of missing fruit.

After her 6-3, 6-1 victory over Madison Brengle, the world No. 10 shared a story of misplaced groceries with media.

It was the first of several bizarre exchanges during her press conference.

Q. You said on Twitter that you were really sad that you left blueberries.

Konta: Oh, my goodness. I don't want to talk about it. Honestly. I messaged everybody. Literally everybody on my team. Has this happened to anyone else?

I went to the supermarket to buy blueberries. I only bought blueberries, two pints. I left two pints of blueberries there. It's $5 I won't get back. It's actually more the betrayal in my own mind I feel so upset about. I was so sad.

Q. (Indiscernible.)

Konta: Clearly I'm not over the blueberry debacle.

No, I'm happy to come through today and I'm just looking forward to playing again on Thursday. I now need to go again to buy blueberries.

Q. You went to the shop?

Konta: I went to the shop and left them there.

Q. Left with no other shopping?

Konta: No. Literally I only went to buy blueberries. I don't know where my mind was.

Q. When did you realize 'I haven't got my shopping'?

Konta: When I was already changed into my PJs and thinking, 'Wait a second, where's my blueberries?' Oh, my gosh, I know.

Q. Apart from stocking up on more blueberries and having somebody to take them home for you.

Konta: Well, no, you'd think I would learn from this, and now I will not forget blueberries again.

The colorful exchanges didn't end there, either.

Q. You have been somewhat of a late bloomer in tennis. Are you a late bloomer in other parts of your life?

Konta: That's a loaded question [smiling]. No, I'm laughing with you.

Well, I mean, I didn't kiss a boy ... Sorry.

I guess so. Yeah, I mean, I didn't chase boys when I was young. Sorry. But, yeah, I guess I am a late bloomer in that sense. Yeah, I don't know how to answer this without going into details.

Q. Did you walk late? Some kids walk late.

Konta: Oh, I don't know. I don't know that. I could tell you this, but this would be an awkward conversation for everyone else to hear. I was this stage when I got my period -- no, I'm joking. 


While Federer again appears the man to beat at this year's tournament, Novak Djokovic should not be dismissed after his return to the court after six months away from the game with an elbow injury.

The 12-time Grand Slam winner's 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 win against American Donald Young was as emphatic as it sounds, with Djokovic showing no signs of rust despite his absence.

Djokovic's new coach, Andre Agassi, also turned heads while watching courtside.


There were upsets aplenty on the first day of the Australian Open and 17-year-old Aussie Destanee Aiava threatened a major boilover at Rod Laver Arena when she led world No. 1 Simona Halep 5-2 in the first set of their contest. With a fairy-tale win in front of her home crowd within reach, it all unraveled after Aiava called for a medical timeout late in the first set.

Halep was able to refocus during the break, taking the first set in a tiebreak. In the second, she appeared to badly injure her left ankle after a scary fall before recovering to blitz Aiava 6-1 in the second.

The Romanian said she was confident the injury wouldn't hamper the rest of her campaign at Melbourne Park.

"I don't know [how bad the injury is] now," she said in her postmatch press conference. "I felt a big pain on court, but I didn't have time to go to check it.

"I feel that is nothing broken, but still the pain was big. I have to see with the doctors."

For her part, Aiava admitted the occasion got to her when she was leading Halep with the first set within her grasp.

"I just got really anxious at 5-2 and started hyperventilating a bit. I just ... started hyperventilating," she said.

"[But] I enjoyed it, as well."


Who says tennis players don't earn enough?

Dissatisfaction with prize money may be one of the hot topics at Melbourne Park, but one star who is happy to part with earnings is Karolina Pliskova.

The No. 6 seed announced Tuesday morning that she will be donating U.S. $100 for every ace she serves at the 2018 Australian Open. Hours later, she beat Veronica Cepede Royg 6-3, 6-4 to progress to the second round, belting down seven aces in the process.

Certainly a worthwhile stat to keep an eye on throughout the tournament.


Two greats of the sport, Serena Williams and Andy Murray, are both absent from the 2018 Australian Open, and it's fair to say they're sharing the pain of missing out.

Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam winner, is still recovering from childbirth, and although she was close to joining the field, she admitted on Snapchat, "I'm not where I want to be."

Murray on the other hand has not played competitively since July and was forced to pull out ahead of the tournament because of an ongoing knee injury.

The pair enjoyed a fun exchange on Twitter ahead of the second day of this year's event.

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