Australian Open day 1 wrap: 10 stars avoid upset

US Open finalist Alexander Zverev melted down in the second set of his first-round showdown with America’s Marcos Giron, but then kept his tournament alive.

The fiery sixth seed, who reached the semi-finals at Melbourne Park last year, made 19 unforced errors in the opening set and then lost it in a tiebreak.

In the second set he served it at 5-4 but was broken, smashing his racquet in fury.

 

Thankfully for the German, he was able to recover in the tiebreak. He then won the third and fourth sets more comfortably to prevail 6-7(8) 7-6(5) 6-3 6-2.

Giron entered the Australian Open ranked 73rd in the world while Zverev is looking to back up a year where he made his first grand slam final.

Last year Zverev was accused of physical abuse by his ex-girlfriend Olga Sharypova, which he denied.

‘BIBI’ THROUGH IN GRAND SLAM RETURN

Former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu, in her first grand slam match since the 2019 title in New York, survived a serious upset bid from Romania’s Mihaela Buzarnescu.

Having battled injuries and the pandemic, Andreescu looked excellent in the first set but then had to fight back just to stay in the match.

She broke Buzarnescu’s serve at 4-3 in the third and deciding set before holding to complete her comeback victory 6-2 4-6 6-3.

THREE AUSSIES THROUGH AS BOLT STRIKES AGAIN

Aussie wildcard Alex Bolt is into the second round of the Australian Open for the second straight year after defeating Norbert Gombos 6-2, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 on Court 5.

The 28-year-old, ranked 174th, defeated world No.89 Gombos and is set to face either 18th seed Grigor Dimitrov or former US Open champion Marin Cilic in the second round.

Ajla Tomljanovic is also through after beating Japan’s Misaki Doi in straight sets.

Then James Duckworth made it three locals through to the second round when he took care of Damir Dzumhur in straight sets 6-3 6-2 6-4.

Earlier, fellow wildcard Kim Birrell wasn’t as lucky, going out to Canadian qualifier Rebecca Marino 0-6 6-7.

MILLMAN DEFEATED IN FIVE SET BATTLE WITH FIERY FRENCHMAN

Aussie John Millman has been sent packing in the opening round of the Australian Open by French 21-year-old Corentin Moutet in a bizarre, see-sawing five-set match on Court 3.

Millman, who made the quarter-finals of the 2018 US Open, was ranked 38th in the world and was a warm favourite coming into the match.

After starting slowly and having his serve broken, Millman broke back to get a foothold in the match before Moutet broke again and and served out the set.

Millman fought back in the second set to force a tiebreak and prevailed against an increasingly agitated Moutet, who had numerous verbal spars with the chair umpire.

After taking the third set, Millman was met with renewed resistance from Moutet, who took the fourth set to force the match into a decider.

Moutet broke at 3-all and didn’t look back, winning 6-4, 6-7, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.

The 31-year-old Millman hasn’t made it past the third round of his home slam before.

FINNISH YOUNGSTER OUSTS NO.10 SEED MONFILS

Finnish world No.86 Emil Ruusuvuori has knocked Gael Monfils out of the Australian Open, defeating the 10th seed 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 in the first round.

The 21-year-old now has a golden chance to progress to the third round, facing the unseeded Yoshihito Nishioka or Pedro Martinez in the second round.

Monfils’ ranking, 11th entering the tournament, is set to take a hit as a result of the loss, with the Frenchman having to defend a fourth-round finish from last year.

FORMER CHAMP THUMPED IN OPENING SET BEFORE QUICK EXIT

Former Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber won just eight points in a first-set thumping at the hands of Croatian Bernarda Pera.

Kerber, who won the event in 2016, had never met Pera in a professional match prior to today’s game and was immediately put on the backfoot by the world No.66.

In a worrying sign for her Australian Open prospects, the former world No.1 was immediately broken to start the second set.

Eventually Kerber returned to form and brought the match to four games apiece in the second set, but Pera pulled ahead once more to seal a 6-0, 6-4 victory.

OSAKA IN OMINOUS FORM

Naomi Osaka has continued her winning form and sent a warning to the rest of the women’s draw with a 6-1, 6-2 win over former world No.13 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Billed as one of the most captivating opening round matches of the tournament, Osaka looked a class above from the outset as the world No.3 cruised to a straight sets win.

Osaka has now won her last 15 matches barring walkovers and is looking to win her second Australian Open after her 2019 triumph.

AUS OPEN BOSS SPEAKS AFTER LATEST COVID-19 CASE

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley is “confident” the event will go ahead as planned despite another hotel quarantine case of COVID-19 being confirmed in Victoria.

Authorities announced that an authorised officer at the Holiday Inn hotel at Melbourne Airport, a quarantine hotel for returned travellers, had tested positive for the virus.

It’s not yet know what strain of the virus the worker was infected with, but Tiley said the latest case hadn’t dissuaded him that going ahead with the Australian Open was the right call.

“Absolutely (it’s the right call) … the way the site is set up, everyone is going to be safe, protected and on top of that get back to seeing some great tennis and being part of what’s so special to us Melburnians at this event and the importance of this event and the signal it sends to everyone,” he said on Channel Nine.

“We are confident that it’s going to be an unbelievable two weeks of tennis. We’ve been through the journey, we’ve got mitigating circumstances if we need to.”

 

BADOSA SLAMS AUS OPEN AGAIN

Spanish tennis player Paula Badosa has doubled down on her criticisms of Australia’s hotel quarantine program just days after apologising for her initial complaints.

Badosa, the world No.70, said in late January she felt “abandoned” by Australian Open organisers after becoming the first player to test positive for an active case of COVID-19 upon arrival in the country.

While Badosa apologised for her comments, which included labelling her time in Australia “far and away the worse experience of my career”, she appeared to show no contrition in a recent interview with Spanish publication El Pais.

“It was a nightmare. They treated me as if I were a criminal, they transferred me from one hotel to another escorted by police officers,” she said.

Badosa also said quarantine and tournament officials should’ve planned more thoroughly for players who tested positive during lockdown.

“They should have raised better conditions to attend to the cases knowing some players and support staff would test positive,” she said.

DJOKER-KYRGIOS FEUD DEEPENS

Djokovic has made several off-court headlines in the lead-up to this year’s event and the eight-time Australian Open winner did so again when declaring he doesn’t “have much respect” for Nick Kyrgios, after the Aussie called the world No.1 a “tool” last month.

The Serbian was criticised by many in the tennis community after a list of his requests for players in pre-Australian Open quarantine was revealed in January.

Among those was Kyrgios, who tweeted simply “Djokovic is a tool”.

Ahead of the season’s first grand slam, Djokovic was asked about Kyrgios’ on and off-court antics – and he made a major distinction.

“I think he’s good for the sport. Obviously he’s someone that is different. He goes about his tennis, he goes about his off court things in his own authentic way,” Djokovic told reporters.

“I have respect for him. I have respect for everyone else really because everyone has a right and freedom to choose how they want to express themselves, what they want to do. My respect goes to him for the tennis he’s playing.

“I think he’s very talented guy. He’s got a big game. He has proven that he has a quality to beat any player really in the world in the past.

“Off the court, I don’t have much respect for him, to be honest. That’s where I’ll close it. I really don’t have any further comments for him, his own comments for me or anything else he’s trying to do.”

It’s the latest instalment of the pair’s feud which dates back several years.

“I just feel like he (Djokovic) has a sick obsession, wanting to be liked,” Kyrgios told the No Challenges Remaining podcast in 2019.

“He just wants to be like Roger (Federer). He just wants to be liked so much that I just can’t stand him.”

Kyrgios was also critical of Djokovic’s decision to run the Adria Tour in Europe last August, in the midst of the pandemic, which saw players filmed partying without masks in packed nightclubs.

“Unfortunately when he was supposed to show some leadership and humility he went missing. Majority would say he has taken an L regardless,” the Canberran tweeted at the time.

NADAL’S CONCERNING ADMISSION

A downcast Rafael Nadal admits he’s worried about his persistent back injury that forced him out of the ATP Cup, but is “staying positive” about his Australian Open chances.

The Spaniard says he started feeling the injury after a training session in Adelaide, where he played an exhibition match, before withdrawing from this past week’s lead-up tournament.

Nadal is tied for the all-time men’s record with 20 Grand Slam titles, after winning last year’s French Open, and with fellow record-holder Roger Federer absent at Melbourne Park this shaped as another opportunity for Nadal to surpass his great rival.

But saying he’s feeling “not great”, Nadal told reporters “it’s true that for the last 15 days I have been suffering with the back. So here we are. I tried little bit today to serve again.

“Well, I’m doing everything what’s possible to be ready for it (the first round). That’s the only thing that I can say. Today I am still hoping to keep improving and hope to be ready for it.”

Nadal’s first round match against Serbia’s Laslo Djere is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2021

ORDER OF PLAY – MONDAY FEBRUARY 8 (All times AEDT)

Rod Laver Arena

From 11am

Naomi Osaka (JPN) [3] def Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS), 6-1 6-2

Serena Williams (USA) [10] def Laura Siegemund (GER), 6-1 6-1

Dominic Thiem (AUT) [3] def Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ), 7-6(2) 6-2 6-3

From 7pm

Lizette Cabrera (AUS) v Simona Halep (ROU) [2]

Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1] v Jeremy Chardy (FRA)

Show Court 1

From 11am

Venus Williams (USA) def Kirsten Flipkens (BEL), 7-5 6-2

Bernarda Pera (USA) def Angelique Kerber (GER) [23], 6-0 6-4

Alexander Zverev (USA) [6] def Marcos Giron (USA), 6-7(8) 7-6(5) 6-3 6-2

From 7pm

Greet Minnen (BEL) v Petra Kvitova (CZE) [9]

Denis Shapovalov (CAN) [11] v Jannik Sinner (ITA)

John Cain Arena

From 12pm

Stan Wawrinka (SUI) [17] def Pedro Sousa (POR), 6-3 6-2 6-4

Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS) def Misaki Doi (JPN), 6-2 6-1

Not before 4pm

Bianca Andreescu (CAN) [8] def Mihaela Buzarnescu (ROU), 6-2 4-6 6-3

Not before 7pm

Frederico Ferreira Silva (POR) v Nick Kyrgios (AUS)

Aussies in action

Court 3

From 11am

Corentin Moutet (FRA) def John Millman (AUS), 6-4 6-7(4) 3-6 6-2 6-3

Court 5

Second match

Alex Bolt (AUS) def Norbert Gombos (SVK), 6-2 6-2 4-6 6-3

Court 7

From 11am

Rebecca Marino (CAN) def Kimberly Birrell (AUS), 6-0 7-6(9)

Third match

James Duckworth (AUS) def Damir Dzumhur (BIH), 6-3 6-2 6-4

Court 8

Fourth match

Yuichi Sugita (JPN) v Bernard Tomic (AUS)

Court 14

Second match

Marton Fucsovics (HUN) def Marc Polmans (AUS), 4-6 6-3 6-1 6-7(3) 6-3