The 31st seeded Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka was on paper a tough opponent for Mikael Ymer, ranked 69th in the world.
That was also the case in reality, when Ymer stepped into the Australian Open.
Melbourne offered fine tennis conditions with no wind, 24 degrees and mostly sun, although a light breeze was felt as the match progressed.
There were about as many red-whites as blue-yellows in the audience, although the blue-yellows were usually louder.
Nishioka was initially the strongest and broke Ymer's serve in the third game.
Ymer, in turn, failed to break the Japanese, and lost first with 4–6.
The start of the second set was a repeat of the first.
There was some drama on the side of the pitch, where a guard collapsed in the sun.
Ymer handed over an energy drink bottle.
Maybe he needed that energy himself, when the balls weren't going his way.
Ymer was clearly frustrated, annoyed that some in the crowd stood up, and kicked a ball several meters across the stands in anger.
The set ended with a 2–6 loss.
Only in the third set did the Swede manage to break Nishioka's serve, and take a 2–0 lead.
But Nishioka responded quickly, subsequently breaking Ymers twice to take the lead.
But Ymer managed to break serve for the second time and equalize at 4–4, and then take the lead at 5–4.
But the Swede never came closer than that.
Nishioka rallied and won the remaining three games to take the set 5–7.
Mikael Ymer was the only Swede in the singles tournaments in the Australian Open.