Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka experienced contrasting starts to their respective Australian Open title defences on Day 1 this year, where Croatian teenage qualifier Dino Prizmic pushed his idol to unexpected waters in a four-hour battle on Rod Laver to kick off the night session. Sabalenka meanwhile, will hope to produce more of the same devastating hitting given her draw…
Croatian teen Prizmic pushes Djokovic to new territory
- Taylor Fritz [12] survives five-set scare against Facundo Diaz Acosta, while Andrey Rublev [5] does the same to outlast Thiago Seyboth Wild in deciding set breaker and hopes experiencing the feeling of being close to an early exit will allow him to play freely in subsequent rounds
- Fritz’s compatriot Frances Tiafoe earns gruelling four-set victory over Borna Coric: “It wouldn’t be a Tiafoe match without a little drama, so yeah,” he concludes post-match after setting up Tomas Machac matchup
- Aussie watch: Christopher O’Connell recovers to win in five against Cristian Garin but Jason Kubler suffers ten-point breaker pain
- Fabian Marozsan beats returning Marin Cilic, gets Francisco Cerundolo [22] now in second-round after exciting Argentine wins a five-setter
- No problems for Davis Cup champion Jannik Sinner on his competitive 2024 debut, while compatriot Matteo Arnaldi also through in straight-sets
It’s not the earth-shattering upset Dino Prizmic would’ve wanted, having done mightily well to hang with – and outplay – his idol Novak Djokovic at times during a four-hour battle. Yet he’ll depart Melbourne with his head held high knowing this four-set defeat should serve as the catalyst to his surge into prominence.
Djokovic’s new longest-ever first-round match played at a Major (four hours, one minute), the teenager half his age refused to go down without a fight and you could’ve been forgiven for thinking otherwise after he had a medical timeout midway through set one for a left thigh injury and won just one point in the next three games.
He relentlessly tracked down every rally ball, served well consistently and kept the defending champion honest during their longer exchanges in ways few can manage.
Novak wasn’t at his best, with patchy serving and an error-prone set two tiebreak giving the youngster a foothold in what quickly became pulsating viewing. Then, he flipped a switch and varied his attacks to find a rhythm, eventually wearing on last season’s junior French Open champion making his main draw debut to prevail.
“He’s an amazing player, so mature for his age and handled himself incredibly well on the court. This is his moment, could’ve easily been his match aswell – was a break up in the third, showed great mentality and resilience, made me run for my money tonight that’s for sure! I certainly want to be in his corner because he’s going to make some big things in the future.”
- Djokovic lavished praise on Prizmic post-match
Kyrgios gets acclaim for media work
2022 Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios has been floating around with an increasing number of media opportunities, from year-end analyst work with Tennis Channel to generally being more prominent on screens again as the 28-year-old prepares to make a comeback from knee and wrist injuries ailing him over the past 18 months.
Here, he joined Britain’s Mark Petchey on Eurosport coverage as they commentated on Djokovic-Prizmic and it was telling they whipped up a segment to rate how Kyrgios performed – Tim Henman and Laura Robson giving him 9/10, Mats Wilander an 8 with more room to improve as he’s seen more and has higher expectations.
Unpicking his tennis brain is a joy and there are few better-equipped to do media than him, as someone thrust into the spotlight as a teen who is keenly aware regarding tricks of the trade. Self-deprecation and charisma don’t often translate well, but he knows how to make it work and it’s a refreshing change from the norm.
Contrastingly, Sabalenka sweeps Siedel aside
- Britain’s no. 2 Jodie Burrage won the opening set, but lost her concentration and the match (2-6, 6-3, 6-0) after a seven-minute bathroom break and delay tactics from Germany’s Tamara Korpatsch
- Seed watch: Maria Sakkari [8], Leylah Fernandez [31] both safely through while 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova and Lesia Tsurenko endure three-set battles to progress elsewhere in bottom half
- Aryna Sabalenka will play another teenager in Czech’s 16-year-old prodigious talent Brenda Fruhvirtova next, after the qualifier recovered from a set down to beat Ana Bogdan (2-6, 6-4, 6-3)
- Having started her night match latest on Rod Laver Arena, she told Eurosport afterwards: “Dino was playing incredibly and moving well, I was hoping Novak would finish in four so I didn’t have to wait any longer!”
- Amanda Anisimova topples Liudmila Samsonova elsewhere in Sabalenka’s section; Sakkari has an open draw after last year’s semifinalist Magda Linette (injury) and Alize Cornet both beaten
Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka [2] began her title defence off with a far more straightforward showing, hitting 20 winners and dropping just six points behind her first serve (24/30) en route to a commanding 6-0, 6-1 scoreline against German teenage qualifier Ella Seidel in 53 minutes on her competitive return to Melbourne.
The 25-year-old wasn’t happy dropping a game towards the end and subsequently needed seven match point opportunities to pass the finish line after a combination of unforced errors and rushed serving, but was nonetheless thankful to win quickly.
“I’m super happy to be back in Melbourne, have some incredible and unfrogettable memories so great to be back, feel the support and atmosphere – I know you were cheering for her – but thanks for staying late!”
I still have to work hard for my dreams… amazing to have achieved so many of my tennis goals, am working really hard to achieve all my goals and am really grateful for everything I have in life. Every opportunity to play on this incredible court, I missed you guys and hopefully can stay until the very last.”
- A welcome return and how life has changed over the last year
Elsewhere, a section where it’s all to play for…
Maria Sakkari ended her streak of three consecutive Majors with first-round defeats against Japan’s Nao Hibino and was naturally relieved. The Greek said she’s had a very good pre-season, made some changes and put more hours into her craft while having the belief things will start to click for the eighth seed sometime soon.
Elina Avanesyan awaits her in round two, after the 21-year-old Russian toppled China’s Zhuoxuan Bai in three-sets on her main draw debut. Avanesyan reached R4 at Roland Garros on her debut – beating Belinda Bencic and Clara Tauson en route – last season, and despite still being an inconsistent player on tour, poses danger.
So too does Russian qualifer Maria Timofeeva, a four-time tour finalist last year who has steadily risen through the ranks. She’ll play Caroline Wozniacki, after Magda Linette retired injured down 6-2, 2-0 against the two-time champion — while Timofeeva’s compatriot and fellow qualifier Alina Korneeva has nothing to lose.
A junior Major champion here and in Paris last year, she’ll play either Linda Fruhvirtova or Beatriz Haddad Maia [10] after a recovery win in three sets over Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo. All of these intriguing subplots feature in the same section.
Due to the time difference and scheduling conflicts, I won’t be producing daily AO round-ups like recent seasons. Instead, the tennis content will be centred around specific matchups or the story of the day, diving into storylines and more, especially with so much ground to explore and not enough time to do everything justice. Nonetheless, stay tuned to moandsports.com for coverage.
Picture source: Getty Images
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