Spain’s world No.1 Rafael Nadal wasted little time in racing into the second round at the Australian Open on Monday. Nadal, a beaten finalist in Melbourne last year, downed Victor Estrella Burgos of the Dominican Republic 6-1, 6-1, 6-1. He next plays Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer.
Kyrgios begins with a bang
Australia’s big hope Nick Kyrgios toyed with opponent Rogerio Dutra Silva to storm into the second round of the Australian Open on Monday, collecting a code violation along the way. The 17th seeded Kyrgios was on autopilot throughout as he disposed of the 100th-ranked Brazilian 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 in 87 minutes.
Anderson knocked out
Britain’s Kyle Edmund knocked out US Open finalist Kevin Anderson in a five-set thriller at the Australian Open. The 49th-ranked Edmund, who lost to 11th seeded Anderson in five sets in the third round at last year’s French Open, toughed out a 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win in almost four hours. It is only the second time he has reached the second round in Melbourne, while South African Anderson, who lost the 2017 Flushing Meadows final to Rafael Nadal, had made the round of 16 in Australia three times.
Isner chopped down by Ebden in American wipeout
John Isner was toppled by Australian Matthew Ebden to continue the American misery on the opening day.
The 16th seed, playing in his 100th Grand Slam match, bowed out 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in just over two hours on Margaret Court Arena.
It was Isner’s first defeat to Ebden in four meetings and follows the shock exits of Americans Venus Williams, US Open champion Sloane Stephens and last year’s semi-finalist CoCo Vandeweghe in the women’s draw.
It is the third time 78th-ranked Ebden has reached the second round at his home major and Isner was the first top-ranked 20 player he had beaten at a Grand Slam.
“It’s unbelievable,” Ebden said. “I’ve lost to John the last two times and he’s so tough to beat but I got immense positivity from the crowd and I feel great and full of energy.”
Ebden, the second-highest ranked Australian behind Nick Kyrgios, will face Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov in the second round.
Dimitrov through in straight sets
Bulgaria’s world No 3 Grigor Dimitrov breezed through his opening round in straight sets.
Chasing his first Grand Slam title, he was too strong for Austrian qualifier Dennis Novak, winning 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 in 98 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
Dimitrov, in Rafael Nadal’s top half of the draw, broke Novak’s service six times and only had two break points on his own serve. It was a smooth opening performance by a man who has never been beyond the semi-finals of a Grand Slam.
“I love playing on this court, it was tricky weather with a lot of wind in the warm-up and I tried to be compact and focused,” Dimitrov said.
“It’s always a dream of mine to win a Slam, this is the next step, and the only thing I can do is to give 100 percent in each match.”
Cilic finishes qualifier on fifth match point
Former US Open champion Marin Cilic was taken to four sets and five match points before reaching the second round.
The Croatian sixth seed looked set for a cruising straight sets victory before dropping the third set against Canadian qualifier Vasek Pospisil.
Pospisil made things interesting in a tense fourth set tiebreaker before Cilic finally prevailed 6-2, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7/5) on Hisense Arena.
It is the ninth time Cilic, the 2014 US Open champion, has reached the second round in Melbourne as he tries to better his semi-final appearance in 2010 where he lost to Andy Murray.
Shapovalov hammers Tsitsipas within two hours
Dennis Shapovalov, the 50th-ranked left-hander, reeled off a 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in just under two hours in his first appearance in Melbourne.
Widely seen as one of the up-and-coming stars in men’s tennis, the 18-year-old hammered 33 winners, backing up a strong service game.
The Canadian made his entrance on the big stage in August with a win over Rafael Nadal at home in Montreal, before a run to the US Open last 16.
Rublev bests Ferrer in a five-set marathon
Andrey Rublev overcame Spanish veteran Ferrer in five sets to advance to the next round.
Rublev, the 30th seed, won an attritional battle with the doughty back-courter before prevailing 7-5, 6-7 (6/8), 6-2, 6-7 (6/8), 6-2 in 3hr 50min on an outside court to reach the second round for the second straight year.
Rublev, the top-ranked Russian, reached the US Open quarter-finals last year where he lost to eventual champion Nadal after upsetting Grigor Dimitrov en route.
The 20-year-old claimed 13 service breaks and hit 77 winners, 40 of them coming off his strong forehand, but offset by 91 unforced errors.
Carreno-Busta in second round after Kubler win
US Open semi-finalist Pablo Carreno-Busta overcame Australian Jason Kubler in four tough sets in his first round match.
The Spanish 10th seed finished strongly after wildcard Kubler had taken the second set to win 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 in three-and-a-half hours.
Carreno-Busta, who won the lead-in Kooyong Classic exhibition event last week, will face either French veteran Gille Simon or Romanian Marius Copil in the second round.
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