Novak Djokovic
, first seeded and winner of the tournament eight times, needed five sets and three hours and 25 minutes to overcome
Taylor Fritz
(25th).
Dominic Thiem
, the third seed, needed another five sets and three hours and 21 minutes before
ditching Nick Kyrgios
(47th).
Daniil Medvedev
, seeded fourth, exhausted all five sets, in three hours and six minutes, until
Filip Krajinovic
, 28th, got off his back.
Cameron Norrie
(69º) did what he could against
Rafael Nadal
, but his meticulous tennis did not give him more than to place himself with a
break
lead in the first set and hold with dignity in the Rod Laver Arena.
The Spanish won by 7-5, 6-2 and 7-5, in two hours and 14 minutes, and enters clean in the second round, without giving up a set, with minimal wear compared to that of the main candidates for the title.
The Australian Open is played without an audience at least until next Thursday, after an outbreak of hyper-infectious contacts in one of the hotels where some tennis players were quarantined.
Physical problems proliferate.
It is not only Nadal's back, but Djokovic's abdominal area or
Carreño's
withdrawal
.
The tracks are much faster than in recent years.
Nadal maintains the constants since the beginning of a strange tournament, like everything that has happened since the pandemic broke out: he does everything he needs to get the games going.
His first serve traveled at an average of 179 kilometers per hour, the fastest so far this tournament, although still below his usual pace.
He made 35 unforced errors, a rare number.
No scratches
If his priority in this first week of the tournament was to survive, waiting for the lumbar discomfort that limits him to serve to improve, Nadal enters the second round with fewer scratches, at least on the scoreboards, than his ranking neighbors.
He is four victories away from winning his second title in this tournament and thus surpassing
Roger Federer's
20 greats
.
It is said soon, because the difficulties will be greater every day, but the Spanish has always shown signs of growing according to the challenges.
If something characterizes Norrie it is his combativeness.
He lacks finishing blows, but he fights and applies.
Take advantage of its discreet qualities.
He presented greater opposition than
Djere
and
Mmoh
, ready to capitulate to the distance that separates them from number two in the world.
Ever since we heard about him in the Davis Cup tie between Spain and Great Britain, on clay, in Marbella, the first World Group crossing, three years ago, Norrie has always distinguished himself by his good attitude towards the game.
Then he was able to beat
Roberto Bautista
, in a series where the visitors created more complications than expected.
He has had a good projection, although the eighth of a
major
still resists him
, after also making the third round at the last US Open.
Also left-handed, he is not, in any case, a player with weapons to surprise Nadal in a tournament of this category.
The Spaniard, for the moment, has his maximum concern in how his back evolves.
In the second round comes
Fabio Fognini
, with whom he has a favorable 12-4 in the face to face.
The Italian, however, has managed to generate problems for him and one of his victories came in the second round of the 2015 US Open coming from two adverse sets, something that no other player has achieved against Nadal.
"He will come to the game with a lot of confidence. I have to keep improving. You can't expect an easy opponent in the second round," said the Manacor.
Fognini mercilessly fired Alex de Miñaur, the last Australian in the fray: 6-4, 6-3 and 6-4.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
Know more
Rafael Nadal
tennis
Australian Open
Novak Djokovic
US Open
Australian Open Maximum requirement;
poor preparation for the Australian Open
Australian Open 2021Public, faster tracks and remnants of the debate on the different treatment in quarantine
Australian Open 2021Nadal: "The evolution of the back problem is not being satisfactory"
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