Serena Williams will play just her third match since the US Open on Tuesday when she faces Belinda Bencic on the Rod Laver…
Swiss star will next play Noah Rubin
Roger Federer made a welcome return to the highest level of professional tennis on Monday night at the Australian Open, in his first tour-level match since 8 July 2016.
Federer, who had been sidelined due to a knee injury, opened his campaign over former junior rival and fellow 35-year-old Jurgen Melzer 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 in two hours and five minutes.
“I thought my serve was on and off in the beginning, which surprised me a little bit, because in practise it’s been going pretty well,” said Federer. “I was feeling nervous once the match actually started. I was actually fine all day, warming up, in the warm-up five minutes with Jurgen. I felt fine. Then I hit four frames in a row. It was like, ‘Whew, it’s not as easy as I thought it was going to be.
“I’m happy I was made to work today. Actually at the end I’m quite happy how I ended, which is most important… It was great to be out there. I really enjoyed myself, even though it wasn’t so simple.”
He goes on to face World No. 200 Noah Rubin, appearing in his third Grand Slam championship, who edged past fellow American Bjorn Fratangelo 6-7(4), 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 in three hours and eight minutes.
Four-time former champion Federer recovered from a 2-4 deficit in the first set and, at one stage, won 13 points in a row. Qualifier Melzer won five games in a row from a 1-3 deficit in the second set, but No. 17 seed Federer was in total control the remainder of the pair’s fifth meeting. The Swiss star hit 46 winners, including 19 aces.
It is Federer’s first appearance outside the Top 10 in the Emirates ATP Rankings at Melbourne Park since 2002 when he ranked No. 12 and his No. 17 seeding is his lowest at a Grand Slam championship since coming in unseeded at 2001 Roland Garros. Pete Sampras was the No. 17 seed when he won his final event, the 2002 US Open.
Former champion made to work hard on day one
Stan Wawrinka lived to fight another day on Monday night at the Australian Open.
The fourth seed and 2014 titlist drew upon his big-match experience to come back from a break deficit in the deciding set to edge Martin Klizan 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 in three hours and 24 minutes on Margaret Court Arena.
”It was tough one, for sure,” said Wawrinka. “But I’m really happy to get through in five sets. It wasn’t my best tennis today, but I was fighting, trying to stay in the game. I think he was playing well. He didn’t give me too much rhythm. He made me play not my best tennis. I’m happy to get through, that’s the most important thing.”
Wawrinka maintained his record of never having lost in the first round at Melbourne Park after he struck 21 aces past Klizan, who finished with a forehand error to see his losing streak extend to 10 matches. It was their first meeting for almost seven years (2010 Casablanca).
The 31-year-old Wawrinka, who beat Rafael Nadal for the trophy three years ago, goes on to play Steve Johnson, a straight sets winner over Federico Delbonis earlier in the day.
Nick Kyrgios, the No. 14 seed, committed only 17 unforced errors as he cruised past Gastao Elias 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in 84 minutes for a place in the second round for the fourth straight year. He next faces veteran Andreas Seppi. “I think I reserved a lot of energy,” said Kyrgios, who experienced sinus problems. “I was actually really impressed with the way I served, the way I returned.”
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Steve Darcis withstood 19 aces from the racquet of Sam Groth in a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory. The Belgian, who has risen nine spots to No. 71 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, goes on to face Diego Schwartzman, who beat his fellow South American, No. 22 seed Pablo Cuevas, 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in 82 minutes.
Aussie teen De Minaur also prevails on Monday
Top seed Andy Murray came up against a determined Illya Marchenko on Monday at the Australian Open in Melbourne, but the Brit passed his first-round challenge with a solid 7-5, 7-6(5), 6-2 win.
Murray was unable to serve out the first set at 5-3, but regrouped by breaking the Ukrainian at 6-5 to grab the early advantage. Marchenko continued to frustrate the top seed, racing out to a 4-2 lead in the second set, but Murray earned the break back to level the score at 4-4. He then stormed to a 4/1 lead in the tie-break and eventually converted on his third set point opportunity.
The third set was one-way traffic for the Brit. He cleaned up his baseline game considerably, hitting 11 winners to just five unforced errors and breaking Marchenko twice to wrap up the hard-fought win in two hours and 47 minutes.
Murray is seeking his first Australian Open title after finishing runner-up here five times (2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016). He also looks to keep his top spot in the Emirates ATP Rankings after this fortnight. Should Novak Djokovic manage to defend his title here, Murray will need to reach at least the semi-finals to maintain his current position.
Next up for the World No. 1 is qualifier and #NextGenATP star Andrey Rublev, a four-set winner earlier in the day over Yen-Hsun Lu.
The breakthrough of the day went to 17-year-old wildcard Alex De Minaur, who thrilled the home crowd on Show Court 3 by saving a match point on the way to scoring his first Grand Slam win against Gerald Melzer, 5-7, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(1), 6-1. The young Aussie saved the match point on his serve at 4-5 in the fourth set. He began to cramp in the deciding set, but hung tough to race to a 5-0 lead and eventually secure the victory.
De Minaur opened 2017 by coming through qualifying at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp, then won his first ATP World Tour main draw match last week at the Apia International Sydney. He has jumped nearly 250 spots in the Emirates ATP Rankings over the past two months to his current standing at No. 301.
Next up for the young Aussie is No. 31 seed Sam Querrey, who rallied from a set down to defeat wildcard and #NextGenATP star Quentin Halys, 6-7(10), 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-4. The Frenchman erased three set points in the opening set tie-break, but Querrey saved a crucial set point on his serve down 4-5 in the second set. The American found the range on his serve in the next two sets, needing just a single break in each to secure the win.
More: Nishikori Prevails In Another Melbourne Five-Setter
One of the biggest upsets of the day came from teenage qualifier Alexander Bublik, who won his first Grand Slam main draw match by recording a stunning 6-0, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over No. 16 seed Lucas Pouille. The Kazakhstan native fired 16 aces and won 86 per cent of his first serve points in the match. The 19-year-old reached his first ATP World Tour quarter-final this past October at the VTB Kremlin Cup.
Next up for Bublik is Malek Jaziri, a straight-sets winner earlier in the day over Go Soeda.
No. 19 seed John Isner fought off a late surge from Konstantin Kravchuk to record a 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-1 victory. Isner didn’t drop serve in the match, hammering 33 aces and accumulating 10 break points throughout the contest (converting on four) to prevail in two hours and 23 minutes.
The American now plays Mischa Zverev, a winner earlier in the day over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. Isner leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 2-0, including a win this past November at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris.
| Australian Open 2017 |
|---|
| Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne Dates: 16-29 Jan |
| Coverage: Live commentary every day on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra plus TV highlights on BBC Two from 21 January; live text on selected matches on the BBC Sport website. |
Britain’s Andy Murray won his first Grand Slam match since becoming world number one but was given a stern test by world number 95 Illya Marchenko.
A clearly frustrated Murray was far from his best but reached the second round of the Australian Open with a 7-5 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 win over the Ukrainian.
The Scot, attempting to win his first Australian Open title after five final defeats, won in two hours 48 minutes.
Fellow Briton Dan Evans beat Facundo Bagnis of Argentina in straight sets.
Evans, the world number 51, saved three set points before winning the opener in a tie-break, then broke Bagnis in the first game of the second set.
A break of the world number 56’s serve in game nine gave Evans the second set, and he wrapped up a 7-6 (10-8) 6-3 6-1 victory to set up a second-round match against Marin Cilic.
Murray, 29, made a nervy start and lost the first game with three double faults and a forehand error, but took control to serve for the set at 5-3.
However, Marchenko broke the Scot again to draw level, only for Murray to raise his intensity and take the set after 55 minutes.
Murray became increasingly frustrated in the second set, berating himself for his errors and unusually sluggish movement, as his opponent grew in confidence.
The Ukrainian, also 29, hit a series of powerful forehands and deft volleys to take the lead in the set.
Murray had to fight hard to force a tie-break, but once again the top seed did enough when it mattered to win the set after a marathon 76 minutes in hot conditions.
The gruelling effort seemed to affect Marchenko in the third set and Murray took advantage to win it without any complications.
He faces Russia’s Andrey Rublev in round two.
“I don’t think it was the best match,” said the Wimbledon champion. “The conditions were pretty different to what we’ve been practising in.
“Last week’s been pretty cool. When it’s like that, the ball is bouncing a bit lower and it is a bit easier to control. I was a bit tentative because of that.
“And I didn’t serve that well either. So you end up having to work really hard on a lot of your service games when it’s like that.”
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller
It was a very hot afternoon and therefore I think you could say Murray expended a little more energy than he would wish.
His first serve will be a concern – it can’t be easy serving in the sun – but the heat is not really a huge factor for him.
All in all, he looked in pretty good spirits. I don’t think he’ll be hugely concerned but there are things to work on.
British number four Aljaz Bedene lost 7-6 (9-7) 7-5 0-6 6-3 to 36-year-old Dominican Victor Estrella Burgos.
Bedene, ranked 108 in the world, was 5-2 up in the opener but Estrella Burgos took the first two sets.
The Slovenia-born Briton eased through the third set, but Estrella Burgos progressed after three hours and nine minutes.
Andy Murray is through to the second round of the Australian Open after battling to a 7-5 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 win over Ukraine’s Ilya Marchenko in the heat in Melbourne.
| 2017 Australian Open |
|---|
| Venue: Melbourne Park Dates: 16-29 January |
| Coverage: Live radio and text commentary of every Andy Murray match on BBC Radio, BBC Sport website and BBC Sport app. Watch highlights on BBC Two and online from 21 January. |
The first round of a Grand Slam is always tricky, but I am glad to get through it.
My first-round match against Illya Marchenko, the world number 95, was OK but it was hard going.
It was tough conditions. The on-court temperature was in the high 30s, which wasn’t easy.
I didn’t feel any extra pressure playing my first Grand Slam as the world number one. I felt nervous beforehand, but I get that before all Slams.
I always feel that bit of extra nerves and bit of extra pressure because these are the tournaments that often you work towards. They’re the biggest tournament for tennis players. It would be a bad sign if you weren’t coming in nervous so I treat it as a good sign.
Being nervous shows me that I want to play well and that I’m up for it. Normally nerves tend to make me feel better or play better but I found it tough on Monday in harsh conditions.
The crowd were good. Sometimes in day sessions, when it’s hot as it was, it’s not easy for people to sit out in the sun for that long. There was a great atmosphere and lot of people out there watching.
After I was knighted I was asked if I wanted to be known as Sir Andy, from whether it was in the draws and on the scoreboards to when I was getting announced.
I’m happy with just plain old Andy, though.
It was an amazing honour to receive, although I have had some mickey-taking with some of the players about calling me ‘Sir’, especially the ones that have known me for a long time.
In Grand Slams, if you go through to the end, you have two weeks of tennis with a day off after every match.
Kim and Sophia are here with me in Australia and it helps. It’s nice to have them here and take my mind off the tennis when the matches are done.
I have a lot of family here: Kim’s mum is also here, as is Jamie and my mum. In the morning we can have breakfast together as a family and then in the evening, when I get back from practice, Sophia is starting to get ready for bed.
So sadly it means I don’t get to do a lot of the fun stuff with them during the day.
I flew to Australia after being able to have Christmas with my family. My first Christmas as a father was good, but busy.
A lot of Christmases I have been away or at training, so it was good to be able to see Sophia on Christmas Day.
I spent the morning with my wife and daughter and Kim’s family, then I flew at midday up to Scotland and had lunch with my mum’s side of my family. Then in the evening I went to my dad’s to have dinner with his family. It was a busy day and I did all right with presents too.
I didn’t get the dogs anything this Christmas. My wife normally gets them toys and presents, and they get sent lots of stuff from my mum and my grandparents. They do pretty well, but they are just as happy tearing into the wrapping paper on Christmas Day.
| Australian Open 2017 |
|---|
| Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne Dates: 16-29 Jan |
| Coverage: Live commentary every day on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra plus TV highlights on BBC Two from 21 January; live text on selected matches on the BBC Sport website. |
World number one Angelique Kerber started the defence of her Australian Open title with a tense 6-2 5-7 6-2 win over Lesia Tsurenko on Rod Laver Arena.
The German top seed was in control at 4-2 up in the second set but two breaks for Tsurenko took it to a decider.
World number four Simona Halep, who needed medical attention on a knee injury, was the first big seed to fall, beaten 6-3 6-1 by Shelby Rogers.
Venus Williams, the 2003 runner-up, beat Kateryna Kozlova 7-6 (7-5) 7-5.
Kerber, who saved a match point in round one on her way to the title last year, blew her first match point against Tsurenko as she made hard work of finishing off what had looked to be a straightforward victory.
The 28-year-old had been 5-3 up in the second set but lost the next three games and saved four set points before succumbing on the fifth in a 12th game that lasted almost 10 minutes.
The opening four games of the decider went with serve before Kerber broke Tsurenko’s resolve in game five and then broke again in game seven before holding serve to love to wrap up victory.
“I’m really happy to be back here,” she said. “Everything started here for me when I won my first Grand Slam here.
“I won the match and that’s what counts. The first round is always tough. I’m so happy to be in the second round.”
Halep said she had been battling her knee problem since the WTA Tour Finals in October.
The 25-year-old had no issues during the off-season but it flared up again in Shenzen two weeks ago.
“I can play about 45, 50 minutes without pain. And then it comes,” said Halep. “Today it was about 5-3 in the first set, so then it was tough to fight and I couldn’t do what I wanted.
“I didn’t see the doctor yet. I need an MRI. I probably need some time off to get it recovered, because it’s difficult to play with the pain.”
American Rogers, beaten in the first round in her only previous Australian Open appearance in 2015, will face the winner of the match between Australia’s Ashleigh Barty and Germany’s Annika Beck in round two.
“It’s pretty incredible, I played really well,” said the world number 52.
The 36-year-old Williams played her first Australian Open in 1998 and turned professional in 1994, the year her opponent was born.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion’s preparations were hindered by an arm injury.
“It’s never easy playing the first round,” said the American 13th seed who made 48 unforced errors. “I was just trying to find my rhythm. She didn’t make it easy so I’m happy to be through.”
Williams next faces either Swiss qualifier Stefanie Voegele or Japan’s Kurumi Nara.
French Open champion Garbine Muguruza needed a medical time-out after the first set for what appeared to be a foot problem but the Spaniard recovered to beat New Zealand’s Marina Erakovic 7-5 6-4.
“It was very tough when you’re playing and starting to feel pain,” said seventh seed Muguruza, who will face American Samantha Crawford in the second round.
Elsewhere, Olympic champion Monica Puig was a dominant 6-0 6-1 winner over Patricia Tig, while Jelena Jankovic, who is playing in her 53rd consecutive Grand Slam, beat Laura Siegemund 6-1 1-6 6-4.
Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova, ranked eighth, completed a tidy 6-0 6-1 victory over Colombian Mariana Duque.
Australian teenager Destanee Aiava became the first player born in this millennium to play a main draw match at a major, but the 16-year-old lost 6-3 7-6 (7-4) to German qualifier Mona Barthel.
World number five Kei Nishikori reached the Australian Open second round with a five-set victory over Russia’s Andrey Kuznetsov in Melbourne.
Japan’s Nishikori, who needed medical treatment in the final set, beat the world number 45 5-7 6-1 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-2 in three and a half hours.
The 27-year-old will next play France’s world number 72 Jeremy Chardy.
Chardy progressed when Spain’s Nicolas Almagro pulled out with a calf injury four games into their match.
Almagro, 31, then rebuffed suggestions he had only turned up to claim the $50,000 (£31,000) that comes with a first-round exit.
He said: “I have more than $10m. I’m not going to play for $50,000. It is not the reason.”
Tenth seed Tomas Berdych, twice a semi-finalist in Melbourne, also had a comfortable passage as his Italian opponent Luca Vanni retired after losing the opening set 6-1.
Seventh seed Marin Cilic fought back from two sets down to beat world number 278 Jerzy Janowicz 4-6 4-6 6-2 6-2 6-3 in three hours.
More to follow.