The defeat of Sharapova, ovation for Murray and super-tie-break Boulter: the results of the first day of the Australian Open

Match

The confrontation between Andy Murray and Robert Bautista-Aguta, without a doubt, became the main following the results of the first game day on the courts of Melbourne. In many ways, increased attention to this meeting was due to the announcement of the British about the desire to end his career this year, which the tennis player made a couple of days before the start of the Australian Open. The three-time Grand Slam tournament winner, who missed a year and a half due to health problems, said that he still had severe pain in his leg, and therefore was not even sure that he would finish playing at home Wimbledon.

Despite all the difficulties, the British imposed a serious struggle on Bautiste-Agutu and showed a remarkable character. After two lost sets with the same score of 4: 6, it seemed to many, until the end of the match it was not very long, but at the cost of incredible effort, Murray pulled two games in tie-breaks and equalized the score.

However, Andy did not have enough of a decisive set of forces, and he lost without much chance - 2: 6. But the fans appreciated the effort of an experienced athlete and, during the filing of the fifth installment, staged a real ovation to Murray. Unfortunately, she may be his last as an acting tennis player. True, the British himself after the match promised to play further.

“If I want to continue to go to the court, I need to have an operation. I'm not sure that I can play at the same level, but I will try, ”Murray said in his post-match interview.

He gets away from the crowd set A # AusOpenpic.twitter.com / cH27iOZc5K

Confidence

But the main hope of Russian men's tennis at the tournament, Karen Khachanov, fortunately, was more fortunate. Domestic tennis player in four sets broke the resistance of the 59th racket of the planet Peter Gojovchik.

True, there were still problems for Khachanov. In the first round match, he acted unstably and at times made unforced errors. The first set completely unexpectedly left for the German. After an unsuccessful start, Karen got ready and confidently left the second batch thanks to a break in the fourth game.

The third Russian started again unsuccessfully and for the second time allowed Goyovchik to take his pitch, but quickly recovered and made a return break, and then brought the matter to victory. Finally, in the fourth and final set, Khachanov set a sure point and made his way into the next round, where he would meet Japanese Yosihito Nishioka, who turned out to be stronger than last year's quarterfinalist Tennis Sandgren.

Other eminent tennis players confidently passed on, with whom Karen - Fernando Verdasco and Marin Cilic could meet in the future. The first in three sets beat the young “qualifai” from Serbia Mimomir Ketsmanovich, and the second left no chance for the host of the courts, Bernard Tomic.

Surprises

One of the main sensations in the men's tournament grid was the departure of the ninth seeded John Isner. The American in four sets managed to give way to the young compatriot Reilly Opelke, who finished the year only in 116th place in the ATP rating.

The highlight of the match was that the fate of all four sets was decided on a tiebreaker. Opelka was stronger in three cases and made his way into the next round. In this case, the rivals implemented only one break point and completed 87 aces for two.

I was forced to cover the racket and the 13th seeded Kyle Edmund. The British in three sets lost to the Czech veteran Tomas Berdych, and he gave the second batch to zero. To win, the 33-year-old tennis player spent just an hour and 44 minutes.

“Last year I missed six months, but now I feel very good. I like the weather conditions in Melbourne - I come here again and again with great pleasure, trying to enjoy every second on the court. Today was another good day. The body thanks me for letting me rest. Let's see how long it will last, ”Berdykh quotes the official website of the tournament.

Sleep

But the second racket of the world, Rafael Nadal, on the contrary, won a landslide victory. The victim of the Spaniard was the owner of a wild-card from Australia, James Duckworth - 6: 4, 6: 3, 7: 5. The game was developed for an experienced favorite so easily that after the match he found the strength to play a trick on the Italian journalist Ubaldo Scanagatta, who fell asleep right at the press conference of Nadal.

“Yes, today is not very interesting. Hello, Ubaldo. Jetlag? Nothing wrong. I know that you closed your eyes in order to better concentrate on my words, ”said Rafael to an awakened journalist.

Apparently this reporter didn’t get the memo thatsleepisfortheweak. 😴

Tell him, Rafa. # AusOpenpic.twitter.com / QcO7l4J9by

Did not experience problems in the match with Denis Istomin and Roger Federer - 6: 3, 6: 4, 6: 4. In the next round, the Swiss will meet with the British Daniel Evans.

Rout

In women in an even more confident style, Maria Sharapova beat her rival. In the first match of the Russian woman met with a modest British Harriet Dart and did not leave her a chance. The 22-year-old tennis player failed to take a single game.

Sharapova, for the first time in a long time, won the match to zero. The last time she managed to do this was at Roland Garros in 2014, when the Russian woman sent Paulo Ormaecha to go home.

“It was a good match. Excellent check for legs and shoulders. Of course, in recent years, everyone knew about my problems with leverage. I could not solve them, so I ended the season after the US Open. I still haven't gotten the desired shape. There are days when you have to work through pain. But today I feel that I did everything correctly, ”Maria said after the game.

In the next round, Sharapova will meet with the Swedish woman Rebecca Peterson, who also left out the case to the Romanian Sorynu Kirstiu in two sets.

. @ MariaSharapova bosses the three-shot rallies in a clinical win over Harriet Dart. # Infosys AI Clips # AusOpenpic.twitter.com / yn9KSPGyi0

Bad luck

But the other Russians on Monday were unsuccessful. The company Sharapova in the second round was able to make only Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. The 27-year-old tennis player in two sets confidently beat the Olympic champion Monika Puig - 6: 4, 6: 3. It is curious that in the second round of the Games for Puerto Ricans in Rio de Janeiro, the future champion knocked Pavlyuchenkova out of the fight. After 2.5 years, Anastasia took revenge from her opponent for the defeat.

The remaining domestic representatives were not so lucky. Ekaterina Makarova became the first tennis player in history, losing in the main net of the Australian Open in a super tie-break, which was introduced starting this year.

Russia's rival young UK spokeswoman Katie Bulter led 5-0, but Makarova managed to win back four points in a row. And with the score 7-4 in her favor, Bulter began to celebrate the victory, apparently forgetting about the new rules. As a result, Katie still squeezed Catherine - 10: 6.

And in the confrontation of Lesia Tsurenko and Yekaterina Alexandrova, there was no usual tie-break. Ukrainian was stronger in the first set - 6: 4, and in the second put an end - 7: 6 (7: 4).

Finally, the 21-year-old Anna Kalinskaya, without a chance, gave way to the same year from Belarus Arina Sobolenko - 1: 6, 4: 6. Thus, the path of a Russian woman’s qualification through the crucible on the main grid turned out to be quite short. But the Belarusian seems to be set up in the most decisive way, especially since she has chances to lead the WTA title race after the end of the tournament.

“The match was held in a wonderful atmosphere, there were a lot of spectators, which I did not expect. Someone even shouted my name. To be honest, I was afraid to go here. Last year nobody liked me here, because she screamed like crazy. I think now I am quieter. Grateful to everyone for their support. My goal is to win all four Grand Slam tournaments in a year. It sounds crazy, but we all want it, ”admitted Sobolenko.

The first round match was also unfortunate for Andrei Rublev. The Russian in four sets unexpectedly conceded to the little-known American Mackenzie Macdonald - 4: 6, 4: 6, 6: 2, 4: 6.

Sensations

In general, the first game day for women did without loud surprises. I was surprised only by the departure of Elena Ostapenko and Juliana Gerges. The representative of Latvia, sown under the 22nd number, sensationally lost to the Greek woman Maria Sakkari and left the tournament.

Similarly, the fate of the 14th seeded Gergess, which in three sets lost to the US representative Daniel Collins, was similar.

🚨🚨🚨 UPSET ALERT! @mariasakkari topples 22nd seed #Ostapenko 6-1 3-6 6-2 # gamesetmatch # AusOpenpic.twitter.com / yGVN9zIyKJ

Non-political correctness

American Sloane Stevens after the victory over compatriot Taylor Townsend - 6: 4, 6: 2 was noted by the statement, which in her homeland may well be perceived as sexist.

“Townsend tries to act in various ways. She can do things on the court that other girls don't do. It's like playing with a guy. Guys are often powerfully served, hit in the air and do strange things that cause confusion. From the first draw I was waiting for this. I think I did a great job, ”Stevens shared her impressions.

Health

The Australian heat is traditionally not easily perceived by many tennis players. Not everyone feels comfortable when you have to be on the court for several hours under the scorching sun and at a temperature of 30 ° C.

I didn’t have time to start another tournament, as Andrea Petkovich experienced health problems right during the match with Irina Begu. In the second set with the score - 7: 6, 3: 4, she unexpectedly lay down on the court and asked for medical assistance. As a result, the German did not manage to continue the game, and the Romanian advanced to the second round on the opponent’s refusal.

Not sure what happened, but Andrea Petkovic is down. They're taking her pulse and blood pressure. # AusOpenpic.twitter.com / Y9TSt6XazC