Casper Ruud was pushed into a five-set battle on day one, while #29 seed Linda Noskova became the first seed to fall as heavy rain proved an ever-present theme on Day 1 of this year’s Australian Open tournament, headlined by straightforward straight-set victories for defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and men’s dark horse Alexander Zverev in the night session on Rod Laver Arena.
Zverev starts as he means to go on: deep run incoming?
ALEXANDER Zverev acknowledged that while it’s been a gruelling route back onto stadium courts at the Grand Slam level, 2019 semifinalist Lucas Pouille’s ability far outweighs his world ranking when the Frenchman is fully fit, having reached the quarterfinals at each of the four Majors, an accomplishment he hasn’t managed yet.
Still though, the 2021 Olympic champion served 18 aces and only coughed up two double-faults against a talented yet undercooked opponent who’d almost exclusively been playing Challenger events in 2024. Zverev was later asked about his thoughts on having dad Senior and older brother Mischa positioned at court level and didn’t mask his displeasure, much to the crowd’s amusement:
“I hate the player box being so close, there’s innovation in all sport – it is how it is – imagine telling your dad and brother around the Christmas table that yeah, sorry you’re not coming to Australia, with their bags already packed.”
It was a mixed day for France, Pouille the only male to depart as Arthur Fils and Hugo Gaston won in four while Ugo Humbert won clean before Quentin Halys’ five-set recovery result against home hopeful Adam Walton, who led two sets and had break points for a 4-3 lead in the third before defeat on his second main draw appearance.
Three-time Major finalist Casper Ruud seeks to better his third-round finish from twelve months ago and will need to up his levels after going the distance against Spain’s Jaume Munar in a topsy-turvy five-set encounter.
The Norwegian’s serving consistency dwindled and Munar made him pay for that, breaking early in sets two and four. The sixth seed cleaned up his tennis in the decider and lost just two points behind his serve in that set, compared to 13 before.
Up next is a much sterner test in Czech’s talented teenager Jakub Mensik, with more weapons and heavy firepower to punish Ruud than a solid all-rounder like Munar. The 19-year-old won in four against Georgian qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili, unfazed after losing their set two breaker to emerge beyond a longtime tour-level test.
ARYNA Sabalenka accepted it was a tough match and always is against 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens, though prevailed without much difficulty in a first-round contest many wouldn’t like to experience against the powerful, unpredictable American as her pursuit of a record-breaking three-peat began Sunday evening.
The world no. 1 said she was glad to close proceedings in straight-sets and agreed with friend Jelena Dokic’s assessment during their on-court interview, declaring Australia was a second home for the two-time defending champion.
The first seed to fall was No. 29 Linda Noskova – in Sabalenka’s section no less – losing from a set up against Denmark’s Clara Tauson (5-7, 6-3, 6-4).
The 22-year-old, who has endured struggles with injury and inconsistency in past years, won the junior tournament in Melbourne six years ago and clinched last week’s Auckland warm-up event after Naomi Osaka withdrew with an injury.
There were no such issues navigating first-round matches for seeded quartet Paula Badosa, Mirra Andreeva, Donna Vekic and Leylah Fernandez among others.
The first two are projected to play Sabalenka later in the tournament, should they continue progressing as expected.
Badosa, twice a Grand Slam quarterfinalist (French Open 2021, US Open 2024), is another player enjoying a resurgence of form after troublesome injuries.
Fernandez could face 2023 US Open champion Coco Gauff in round three, while Melbourne is a happy hunting ground for Andreeva, who will fancy her chances of proving last summer’s French Open scalp wasn’t a fluke against the two-time defending titleholder.
Picture source: Getty Images, quotes via Australia/world feed TV broadcasts
Mo and Sports 