Andy Murray departed the Australian Open with a painful whimper on Monday, two other former champions have decisions to make after early exits elsewhere but the former world no. 1’s dilemma feels more pressing as retirement lingers. Meanwhile, the media adulation for a returning Emma Raducanu must be tempered if she’s to blossom as many expected would happen much sooner.
Murray must regroup again after sad Etcheverry loss
- Laura Robson, who played doubles alongside Murray during London 2012 and won a gold medal with him, had this to say: “I watched him play in Brisbane, the only person who took a set off eventual champion Grigor Dimitrov – played great, aggressive tennis, looked so fit physically. He was in the press conference room looking down and out, just feel for him so much… he’s got so much more to give than what we saw today.”
- Meanwhile, Tim Henman declared it a “painful watch. It’s difficult when you’re 36 years old and achieved what he’s achieved in the game. You want to see him out on court enjoying himself and reaping the rewards of all the hard work that he puts in on the practice court back home and in the gym
For those eager to see him call it a day, this was the perfect case in point. The early fight belied what would be a painful two-hour sequence for Andy Murray, losing in straight-sets against French Open quarterfinalist Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
While the crowd couldn’t be criticised for a lack of effort or vocal support, the usual Murray chuntering and fiery temper was absent in ways showing he subconsciously knew, much quicker than most, there was no point expending more energy.
“When you’re one point away from the end, you’re like, ‘I can’t believe this is over so quickly, and like this’. I was disappointed with the way I played and all of that stuff. It was a tough, tough way to finish.”
Etcheverry played excellently and could’ve beaten Murray if he was feeling good and firing on all cylinders, but the Argentine looked half-apologetic to be running up the scoreline against an idol spilling errors across the other side of the court.
- Two-time AO finalist Daniil Medvedev survived a scare, responding to losing a competitive first set before French opponent Terence Atmane retired in tears after cramping (5-7, 6-2 6-4, 1-0.)
- Elsewhere in the men’s draw, last season’s breakthrough American talent Ben Shelton [16] had no issues during a straight-sets win over Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2 7-6 (7-2) 7-5.
- Wimbledon titlist Carlos Alcaraz finished the night session with a straight-sets win over Richard Gasquet, while Olympic champion Alexander Zverev and both progressed through elsewhere to round two across Day 3
- Lorenzo Sonego stopped what would’ve been a clean sweep for British players in action here, recovering from a set down – winning two tiebreaks in doing so – to beat Dan Evans in four
- Cameron Norrie cruised through, Jack Draper showed mettle to outlast Marcos Giron and win his first five-set match while there were hard-fought victories for Sebastian Korda and home hopeful Thanasi Kokkinakis elsewhere too
Raducanu refreshed, but media can’t be hasty this time
Emma Raducanu served well, was aggressive and executed expertly elsewhere to make a tough first-round tie seem routine in a 6-3, 6-2 win over America’s Shelby Rogers – setting up a maiden encounter with China’s Yafan Wang on Thursday.
Having lost a competitive straight-sets battle against Coco Gauff in round two here last year, victory beyond relatively unheralded opposition would mark a new career-best achievement at the year’s first Major.
Wang recovered from a bagel opening set and break down to topple US Open quarterfinalist and 22nd seed Sorana Cirstea (0-6, 7-5, 6-2) in just shy of two hours.
That surprise result means a compelling clash with either Wang’s compatriot in rising star Qinwen Zheng [12], or an all-British duel vs. current number one Katie Boulter awaits for a last-16 berth, assuming Raducanu can handle business later this week.
The 21-year-old dropped just three points behind her first serve (30/33) and a rusty-looking Rogers – making her own competitive return after six months out with knee surgery, an abdominal issue and getting married last month – hit more than double the Brit’s unforced errors (35-16) as this contest quickly escaped the 31-year-old.
Easier said than done but it’s important to not dwell on the brightest moments while staying level-headed when things inevitably look gloomy – such is the rollercoaster of professional tennis on multiple surfaces and countries every passing week.
The good thing is rather simplistic as far as her mental state is concerned: Raducanu feels free and finally banished some of the mental baggage hanging over from her unprecedented Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows in 2021.
Struggling to satisfy unrealistic and heightened expectations since then, this current run marks her eighth Major main draw campaign having missed the last two rehabbing from various injuries. A successful recovery from double surgery (both wrists, ankle) sidelined her for eight months, but the Brit told assembled press pre-tournament that sustaining consistency would be the main target.
“Physically I feel good but to get that level of consistency requires more time. I know my level is there, just need to keep working to make it more consistent – that will come with time in the gym, on court, being able to play the calendar, not thinking about ‘Will I have to pull out from this one? Does that hurt’?
“I think my level is just too good not to come through if I put consistent work together. I feel a lot lighter now than I did for a long time after the US Open – like I’m not playing with a backpack of rocks, feel pretty light and happy.”
It may seem like a cliche but newfound appreciation for her life as an athlete, with perspective and having missed the sport – living everyday life in general – will have served as motivation for her to make up for lost time.
Established as a fan attraction worldwide, it’ll be interesting to see whether she can return to the top-10 level many assumed she would quickly prove was no fluke.
That’s only half the battle and while we won’t have definitive answers in the coming days, it’ll show how much work needed to reach that target – ala Naomi Osaka.
Garcia knocks out Osaka
- US Open champion Coco Gauff said a pep talk helped overcome early nerves before she cruised through her opening match against Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-3 6-0.
- Wimbledon titlist Marketa Vondrousova had been struggling with a knock pre-tournament, but nonetheless won just three games in a surprising first-round defeat (6-1, 6-2) by Ukrainian qualifier Dayana Yastremska
- Three-time Major finalist Ons Jabeur has endured a love-hate relationship with Melbourne and spoke of how the crowd’s atmosphere eased her stress in a comfy win against Yuliia Starodubtseva: “It’s very special to come back here. I decided to rest a bit before the Australian Open… The crowd really helped today, hopefully it’ll be a much better match.”
Excellent serving and even better ball-striking in clutch moments saw Caroline Garcia progress through into the second-round after a straight-sets win (6-4, 7-6) over returning two-time champion Naomi Osaka during Monday’s night session finale.
“I have a lot of respect for Naomi as a person and player, we all know she’s had an amazing career, been away for 15 months and been through a lot.
I’m just very glad to see her back, hope she can enjoy tennis and have fun out there. She’s a great girl and has done so much for tennis in the past years. Just six months after giving birth, playing amazing tennis so we have to watch out!”
The Frenchwoman, who won the WTA Finals in 2022, revealed she suffered from first-round jitters and eased her way into a high-quality encounter by virtue of their longer rally exchanges, pouncing when opportunities arrived to be aggressive.
The 16th seed will play Poland’s Magdalena Frech next, after squeezing past home hopeful Daria Saville in three sets – doing it the hard way from 5-3 up in the decider.
More analysis to follow shortly…
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, quotes via Eurosport and BBC Sport
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