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The main draw of the 2022 Australian Open kicked off Monday with players trying to take advantage of a wide-open field.
Nine-time men’s singles champion Novak Djokovic will not compete in this year’s event after his Australian visa was canceled over his vaccination status. The women’s draw will be without seven-time champion Serena Williams, who withdrew in December following the advice of her medical team.
It provides an opportunity for other contenders to step into the spotlight during the first Grand Slam of the season.
Here are the notable results from Day 1 in Melbourne:
Men’s Draw
No. 3 Alexander Zverev def. Daniel Altmaier, 7-6(3), 6-1, 7-6(1)
No. 6 Rafael Nadal def. Marcos Giron, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2
No. 7 Matteo Berrettini def. Brandon Nakashima, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(5), 6-3
No. 10 Hubert Hurkacz def. Egor Gerasimov, 6-2, 7-6(3), 6(5)-7, 6-3
Sebastian Korda def. No. 12 Cameron Norrie, 6-3, 6-0, 6-4
No. 14 Denis Shapovalov def. Laslo Djere, 7-6(3), 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(3)
No. 16 Christian Garin def. Facundo Bagnis, 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6(4)-7, 6-3
No. 17 Gael Monfils def. Federico Coria, 6-1, 6-1, 6-3
Women’s Draw
No. 1 Ashleigh Barty def. Lesia Tsurenko, 6-0, 6-1
No. 4 Barbora Krejcikova def. Andrea Petkovic, 6-2, 6-0
No. 5 Maria Sakkari def. Tatjana Maria, 6-4, 7-6 (2)
No. 8 Paula Badosa def. Ajla Tomljanovic, 6-4, 6-0
Madison Keys def. No. 11 Sofia Kenin, 7-6(2), 7-5
No. 13 Naomi Osaka def. Camila Osorio, 6-3, 6-3
No. 15 Elina Svitolina def. Fiona Ferro, 6-1, 7-6(4)
Qiang Wang def. No. 18 Coco Gauff, 6-4, 6-2
Full results available at AUSOpen.com
Recap
There weren’t many upsets on Day 1 of the Australian Open, but several Americans had a hand in the biggest ones.
Sebastian Korda pulled off an early surprise with an easy straight-set victory over No. 12 Cameron Norrie:
Ben Rothenberg @BenRothenberg
Sebastian Korda, who was quarantined with coronavirus in Adelaide, absolutely dominates Indian Wells champ #12 Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-0, 6-4.<br><br>I had been cautious about Korda’s chances here, but golly heck was that a beatdown.<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/AusOpen?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#AusOpen</a>
The 21-year-old from Florida won 70 percent of his service points and wasn’t broken a single time.
“I think that’s maybe my worst match in the last eight months or so,” Norrie said afterward. “I honestly can’t put a finger on it. I just need to get better and improve.”
Korda will look to keep it going without a top-10 player in his draw until a potential fourth-round matchup with No. 7 Matteo Berrettini, who survived a four-set battle against Brandon Nakashima in Round 1.
In the women’s bracket, Madison Keys knocked out fellow American Sofia Kenin, who entered as the No. 11 seed in the tournament. Kenin won this event in 2020, but it was Keys who looked more confident with 15 aces and only one double fault. She won 84 percent of her first-serve points and tallied 31 winners, using an aggressive style throughout.
No. 18 Coco Gauff wasn’t as fortunate while suffering a straight-set loss to Qiang Wang. The 17-year-old American hurt herself with 38 unforced errors and just 15 winners, creating a difficult path to victory for anyone.
D’Arcy Maine @darcymaine_espn
Two years ago on John Cain Arena, Sofia Kenin and Coco Gauff had an epic battle with a spot in the <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/AusOpen?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#AusOpen</a> quarterfinals on the line. Today they both lost in straight sets in the first round. Tennis is crazy.
Meanwhile, several big names cruised to easy wins.
Women’s No. 1 Ashleigh Barty dropped just a single game on her way to a dominant 6-0, 6-1 win over Lesia Tsurenko, dazzling the home crowd with a variety of shots:
Men’s No. 6 Rafael Nadal also had little trouble Monday, earning a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win over Marcos Giron. As usual, the Spanish star showcased his ability to cover nearly the entire court:
#AusOpen @AustralianOpen
We can always rely on <a href=”https://twitter.com/RafaelNadal?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@RafaelNadal</a> for some inspiration ✨<a href=”https://twitter.com/Kia_Worldwide?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@Kia_Worldwide</a> · <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Kia?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Kia</a> · <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/MovementThatInspires?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#MovementThatInspires</a><a href=”https://twitter.com/wwos?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@wwos</a> · <a href=”https://twitter.com/espn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@espn</a> · <a href=”https://twitter.com/Eurosport?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@Eurosport</a> · <a href=”https://twitter.com/wowowtennis?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@wowowtennis</a> <a href=”https://t.co/ih7PV19bqd”>pic.twitter.com/ih7PV19bqd</a>
Alexander Zverev also won in straight sets, although the third overall seed did have a little bit more trouble with Daniel Altmaier while needing two tiebreaks. The underdog also came through with one of the best shots of the day:
#AusOpen @AustralianOpen
New shot, who dis? ????<br><br>????: <a href=”https://twitter.com/wwos?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@wwos</a> • <a href=”https://twitter.com/espn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@espn</a> • <a href=”https://twitter.com/Eurosport?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@Eurosport</a> • <a href=”https://twitter.com/wowowtennis?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@wowowtennis</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/daniel_altmaier?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@daniel_altmaier</a> • <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/AusOpen?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#AusOpen</a> • <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/AO2022?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#AO2022</a> <a href=”https://t.co/nOOygUMMy2″>pic.twitter.com/nOOygUMMy2</a>
Zverev still got the key points when needed, tallying 53 winners compared to just 17 from Altmaier.
Defending women’s champion Naomi Osaka also kicked off her tournament with a straight-set win over Camila Osorio that took just one hour and eight minutes. However, the No. 13 seed has a difficult draw to win her third Australian Open title.
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