Reigning Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic was just one of several top contenders who took care of business with relative ease on Day 1 at Melbourne Park.
A straight-set winner, Djokovic wrapped up his first-round match with Paul-Henri Mathieu in under two hours, 6-2, 6-4, 7-5, while showing the rest of the men’s field why he is the man to beat this January. Meanwhile, Maria Sharapovaand Venus Williamsboth steamrolled their way into the second round, keeping alive the potential for a third-round clash between the two later this week. With half of the first-round action in the books, we’ll get you caught up on the latest Day 1 happenings Down Under.
Djokovic Cruises
Men’s No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic cruised in his opening-round match on Monday, taking down 31-year-old Paul-Henri Mathieu in straight sets. Djokovic played clean tennis for the most part, committing just 15 unforced errors for the match. The two-time defending champion also recorded nine aces in the comfortable first-round victory.Something to watch for as Djokovic goes forward is his play at the net. In recenttournaments he has looked much more willing to come forward and shorten points. He won 75 percent of his net points against Mathieu on Day 1. Djokovic will advance to play 20-year-old American Ryan Harrison in the second round. Harrison defeated Santiago Giraldo in four sets.
Sharapova Dominates
Maria Sharapova, who enters Australia as the No. 2 seed on the women’s side, showed why she’s one of the top contenders Down Under this January, destroying fellow Russian Olga Puchkova in the first round on Monday, not losing a single game in a 6-0, 6-0 win. The 25-year-old Sharapova looked right at home in Melbourne, crushing 18 winners and winning 79 percent of her first-serve points. The biggest key for Sharapova was capitalizing on her break points, winning six of nine opportunities to finish off Puchkova in no time. Expect her impressive victory to do a lot for her confidence as the tournament wears on and she reaches the later rounds. Sharapova will face Misaki Doi of Japan in the second round after Doi topped Petra Martic in straight sets.
Venus Shines
Although it wasn’t a complete shutout like in Sharapova’s case, Venus Williams played a stellar first-round match on Day 1, defeating Galina Voskoboeva in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0. The elder of the two Williams sisters, Venus made few mistakes (just 10 unforced errors) and recorded 21 winners in all. Williams was also strong at the net, cashing in on eight of 12 net points. Williams, like most victors at the Aussie Open, won a high percentage (77 percent) of her first-serve points and came through on her break-point opportunities as well. Fans should be watching Williams’ serve in her second-round match vs. Alize Cornet and if she moves forward. When she is getting great pace behind her serve and striking with accuracy, she is still a very dangerous player.
Men’s First-Round Scores: Day 1
Novak Djokovic (1) defeated Paul-Henri Mathieu; 6-2, 6-4, 7-5
David Ferrer (4) defeated Olivier Rochus; 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
Tomas Berdych (5) defeated Michael Russell; 6-3, 7-5, 6-3
Janko Tipsarevic (8) defeated Lleyton Hewitt; 7-6 (7-4), 7-5, 6-3
Nicolas Almagro (10) defeated Steve Johnson; 7-5, 6-7 (4-7), 6-2, 6-7 (6-8), 6-2
Andrey Kuznetsov defeated Juan Monaco (11); 7-6 (7-3), 6-1, 6-1
Stanislas Wawrinka (15) defeated Cedrik-Marcel Stebe; 6-2, 6-4, 6-3
Kei Nishikori (16) defeated Victor Hanescu; 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-1, 6-3
Sam Querrey (20) defeated Daniel Munoz-De La Nava; 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 6-2, 6-4
Fernando Verdasco (22) defeated David Goffin; 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Mikhail Youzhny (23) defeated Matthew Ebden; 4-6, 6-7 (0-7), 6-2, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
Jerzy Janowicz (24) defeated Simone Bolelli; 7-5, 6-4, 6-3
Jurgen Melzer (26) defeated Mikhail Kukushkin; 6-1, 6-1, 6-2
Marcos Baghdatis (28) defeated Albert Ramos; 6-7 (0-7), 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
Radek Stepanek (31) defeated Viktor Troicki; 5-7, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5
Julien Benneteau (32) defeated Grigor Dimitrov; 6-4, 6-2, 6-4
Ryan Harrison defeated Santiago Giraldo; 2-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4
Kevin Anderson defeated Paolo Lorenzi; 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, 6-4
Tatsuma Ito defeated John Millman; 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 0-6, 7-5
Feliciano Lopez defeated Arnau Brugues-Davi; 6-3, 6-2, 6-4
Roberto Bautista Agut defeated Fabio Fognini; 6-0, 2-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
Brian Baker defeated Alex Bogomolov Jr; 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 6-7 (0-7), 3-6, 6-2
Daniel Gimeno-Traver defeated Lukasz Kubot; 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 6-0, 4-6, 6-4
Tobias Kamke defeated Flavio Cipolla; 6-1, 6-4, 6-1
Tim Smyczek defeated Ivo Karlovic; 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5
Xavier Malisse defeated Pablo Andujar; 6-3, 6-1, 6-2
Guillaume Rufin defeated Julian Reister; 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1, 6-2
Edouard Roger-Vasselin defeated Ruben Bemelmans; 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 2-6, 7-5, 11-9
Lukas Lacko defeated Gilles Muller; 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
Somdev Devvarman defeated Bjorn Phau; 6-3, 6-2, 6-3
Evgeny Donskoy defeated Adrian Ungur; 6-4, 6-4, 6-2
Carlos Berlocq defeated Maxime Authom; 1-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
Women’s First-Round Scores: Day 1
Maria Sharapova (2) defeated Olga Puchkova; 6-0, 6-0
Agnieszka Radwanska (4) defeated Bojana Bobusic; 7-5, 6-0
Angelique Kerber (5) defeated Elina Svitolina; 6-2, 6-4
Li Na (6) defeated Sesil Karatantcheva; 6-1, 6-3
Samantha Stosur (9) defeated Kai-Chen Chang; 7-6 (7-3), 6-3
Marion Bartoli (11) defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues; 6-2, 6-4
Ana Ivanovic (13) defeated Melinda Czink; 6-2, 6-1
Dominika Cibulkova (15) defeated Ashleigh Barty; 3-6, 6-0, 6-1
Julia Goerges (18) defeated Vera Dushevina; 7-5, 2-6, 6-4
Ekaterina Makarova (19) defeated Michelle Larcher De Brito; 6-2, 7-5
Jelena Jankovic (22) defeated Johanna Larsson; 6-2, 6-2
Venus Williams (25) defeated Galina Voskoboeva; 6-1, 6-0
Sorana Cirstea (27) defeated Coco Vandeweghe; 6-4, 6-2
Ksenia Pervak defeated Mona Barthel (32); 7-5, 2-6, 6-4
Madison Keys defeated Casey Dellacqua; 6-4, 7-6 (7-0)
Lucie Hradecka defeated Kiki Bertens; 6-2, 7-6 (10-8)
Kirsten Flipkens defeated Nina Bratchikova; 6-4, 6-3
Romina Oprandi defeated Tsvetana Pironkova; 4-6, 7-5, 6-2
Yung-Jan Chan defeated Daniela Hantuchova; 6-1, 1-6, 6-1
Tamira Paszek defeated Stefanie Voegele; 4-6, 6-4, 7-5
Klara Zakopalova defeated Chanelle Scheepers; 6-1, 6-2
Heather Watson defeated Alexandra Cadantu; 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
Alize Cornet defeated Marina Erakovic; 7-5, 6-7 (3-7), 10-8
Irina-Camelia Begu defeated Arantxa Rus; 6-4, 6-2
Olga Govortsova defeated Pauline Parmentier; 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
Jie Zheng defeated Yuxuan Zhang; 6-1, 3-6, 6-4
Valeria Savinykh defeated Mandy Minella; 7-6 (7-4), 6-1
Kristyna Pliskova defeated Sacha Jones; 6-3, 6-2
Vesna Dolonc defeated Olivia Rogowska; 5-7, 7-5, 8-6
Misaki Doi defeated Petra Martic; 6-3, 6-4
Stephanie Foretz Gacon defeated Camila Giorgi; 6-2, 6-3
Maria Joao Koehler defeated Karin Knapp; 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
