MELBOURNE (REUTERS) - Defending champion Naomi Osaka fired back at a social media user who jeered her arrival on court before her 6-2, 6-4 victory over the Czech Republic's Marie Bouzkova in the Australian Open first round on Monday (Jan 20).
The 22-year-old from Japan next faces China's Zheng Saisai, who needed just 72 minutes to beat Russian qualifier Anna Kalinskaya 6-3, 6-2.
Osaka, who admitted to some nerves entering the tournament as defending champion, was less than impressed with one social media user who wrote "Boooooooooooo" on the event's official Twitter page as it announced the match was about to start.
Osaka responded after the match with a tweet of her own, asking, "Are you big mad or little mad?". She then told reporters she could not understand why someone would attack her for no apparent reason.
"She was hating. What would her children think? You're just going to come on the Internet and boo me for no reason? I didn't do anything to you," Osaka said when asked about the exchange. "She was very upset. I also wonder, people like this, if they see you in person, I wonder what they would do?"
Meanwhile, Canadian young gun Denis Shapovalov was sent spinning out of the first round with an ill-tempered 6-3, 6-7 (7-9), 6-1, 7-6 (7-3) defeat by unseeded Hungarian Marton Fucsovics.
Seeded 13th, Shapovalov appeared out of sorts from the start and exploded at the chair umpire after receiving a code violation for pounding his racket into the blue hard court when broken early in the third set at Margaret Court Arena.
He gave up a 4-2 lead in the fourth set to be dragged into a tiebreak and Fucsovics raced to a 6-2 lead before closing out the contest when the Canadian hammered an unforced error.
Fucsovics will play the winner of Italian Jannik Sinner's match against Australian qualifier Max Purcell.
Seven-time Australian Open champion Serena Williams looked in ominous form as she opened her 19th campaign at Melbourne Park with a 6-0, 6-3 trouncing of Anastasia Potapova.
American Williams, 38, arrived at the year's first Grand Slam having won her first WTA title in three years and made short work of the out-gunned Russian teenager on Rod Laver Arena.
A clean crosscourt winner gave the eighth seed the first set in under 20 minutes and although former Wimbledon junior champion Potapova made her fight harder in the second the match was wrapped up inside an hour.
Williams will play Slovenia's Tamara Zidansek or South Korean wildcard Han Na-lae in the second round as she continues her quest to match Margaret Court's record career tally of 24 Grand Slam singles titles.
