Looking to become the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam, Carlos Alcaraz eased into the second round at the Australian Open on Monday with an imperfect but entertaining 6-1, 7-5, 6-1 victory over Kazakhstan’s Alexander Shevchenko.
The the 21-year-old Spaniard and four-time major champion showed flashes of brilliance but also made several unforced errors in his opening match in Melbourne.
‘Honestly, the first match of the season you never know how it’s going to be. I had the confidence to think that I was going to be good, but you never know,’ he told reporters afterward.
‘I’m just really happy with the level that I played, with everything I’ve done today. But I really want to be better in the next round.’
AUSTRALIAN OPEN STORYLINES: Coco Gauff ‘confident’ in bid for second Grand Slam title
The tournament’s No. 3 seed is still fine-tuning a new service motion that he adopted in the offseason, but he found his range with some devastating winners to dispatch Shevchenko, who’s ranked No. 77 in the world.
He’ll face Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka in the second round.
Australian Nick Kyrgios upset in short-lived return
Nick Kyrgios’s long-awaited return to the Grand Slam stage proved something of a letdown as Briton Jacob Fearnley sent the ailing home hero out of the Australian Open first round in straight sets on Monday.
A capacity crowd packed John Cain Arena for Kyrgios’ first match at Melbourne Park in three years, hoping the tennis showman could shrug off an abdominal strain to battle through.
Most left deflated as Kyrgios went down swinging in a 7-6 (3), 6-3, 7-6 (2) defeat, with the injury hampering his serve and movement.
Kyrgios said this loss may have been his last singles match at the Grand Slam eventKyrgios said this loss may have been his last singles match at the Grand Slam event, given his growing frustrations with injury.
‘Realistically I can’t see myself playing a singles match here again,’ the 29-year-old told reporters.
‘It’s hard. When you’re competing for the biggest tournaments in the world and you’re struggling to win sets physically, it’s pretty tough.
Novak Djokovic rallies past young American
Novak Djokovic was rattled early on by inspired American teenager Nishesh Basavareddy but rallied for a four-set victory Monday to keep his bid for an 11th Australian Open title alive into the second round.
Basavareddy, making his Grand Slam debut, made Djokovic look every one of his 37 years as he tore around Rod Laver Arena mixing clean winners with some beautifully deft drop shots.
The 19-year-old had the crowd on its feet when he broke for 4-3 in the first set with a sizzling backhand return, again when he fought off two break points to hold for 5-3, and a third time when Djokovic dumped a backhand into the net to cede the set.
But the 24-time major champion took control in the second set and outlasted his young opponent 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
Djokovic hasn’t lost in the first round of a Grand Slam event since the 2006 Australian Open when he lost to American Paul Goldstein – who coincidentally is Basavareddy’s collegiate coach at Stanford.
‘This kind of match is always tricky, playing against someone who has nothing to lose,’ Djokovic said. ‘He handled himself really well and I’m sure we’ll see plenty of him in the future.’
Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff is hoping that coming through a tough first round clash with former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin on Monday will hold her in good stead for the rest of the tournament.
The third seed was given a solid workout by 2020 champion Kenin in blazing sunshine on Rod Laver Arena but extended her lengthy winning streak to reach the second round with a 6-3 6-3 victory.
‘Honestly, when I saw the draw, I was like, it’s not a great first round. She’s one of those people that she can play great tennis,’ Gauff said.
Gauff pounced to break her fellow American for a fourth time in the match and secured her 10th straight singles victory when Kenin sent a wild forehand well wide of the tramlines.
Doping in spotlight as Jannik Sinner wins first match
Jannik Sinner launched his Australian Open title defense with a 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5), 6-1 win over Nicolas Jarry on Monday in a match that put the players’ contrasting doping cases in the spotlight.
World No. 1 Sinner, who avoided suspension after failing two drug tests last March, was given a good battle on a sun-drenched Rod Laver Arena by the big-serving Chilean who was banned for 11 months in 2020 for doping.
In the lead-up to the match, Jarry had told Chilean newspaper La Tercera that he wished he had ‘the same support’ as Sinner from tennis authorities following his own failed tests.
Sinner remains under a doping cloud, however, with the World Anti-Doping Agency seeking a ban of up to two years at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. A hearing has been set for April.
The saga has taken little toll on the Italian’s tennis; his defeat of world No. 36 Jarry was the U.S. Open champion’s 16th win in succession and 15th at the hardcourt Grand Slams.