Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka extended her Australian Open winning streak to 15 matches on a rain-soaked opening day at Melbourne Park.
Less than an hour of play was possible on the outer courts before a massive thunderstorm struck Melbourne Park, delaying play for more than six hours as spectators rushed to evacuate.
Play continued as scheduled on the three covered courts and Sabalenka opened the night session at Rod Laver Arena with a 6-3 6-2 win over former US Open champion Sloane Stephens.
It was a tough draw on paper, but Stephens fell to 81st in the rankings, and aside from a small resurgence for the American with three straight wins after losing her first four games, this was smooth sailing for Sabalenka, who beat her. Following their first major championship at Melbourne Park in 2023, they added another major championship last January and won a total of three Slam trophies at the US Open in September.
The last woman to win the Australian Open three years in a row was Martina Hingis from 1997 to 1999.
“I’m really happy to be back,” Sabalenka said. “I like it here.”
She added: “It was a difficult match. It’s always a tough match against her. I didn’t play my best, but I was happy I was able to finish this match in straight sets.”
Sabalenka celebrated her win by dancing on the court with host Jelena Dokic.
Sabalenka won last year’s final and was seeded 5. chinwen jungAs expected, we safely advanced to the second round.
The 22-year-old from China, who won gold at the Paris Olympics, had a poor performance against Romanian qualifier Anka Todoni but won 7-6 (7-3) 6-1.
Zheng took complete control of the set at 5-4 and took a 40-0 lead on serve, giving Todoni his fifth straight win.
The Romanian held on to three set points as Zheng served at 5-6 but could not claim any of them and things were comfortable for the fifth seed after that.
“The first game is not always easy,” Zheng said in an on-court interview. “She was playing really well, but I made a little stupid mistake at 5-4, 40-0. I don’t know what happened there.”
Mirra Andreeva became the first player to advance to the second round after defeating 17-year-old Czech Marie Bouzkova.
teenager Mira Andreeva Could be a factor later in the tournament and she started strong with a 6-3 6-3 win over Marie Bouzkova.
However, 29th seed Linda Noskova, who upset Iga Switek on her way to the quarterfinals last year, lost 5-7 6-3 6-4 to the talented Dane. Clara Towson.
Brit Kartal fails in Australian Open debut
Sonay Kartal’s comeback failed as his Melbourne debut came in a loss to Spain. Jessica Buzas Maneiro.
Britain’s third-ranked Kartal rose rapidly in the rankings, winning her first WTA Tour title in Tunisia in the second half of last season and entering the top 100.
This earned her a spot in the main draw in Melbourne, where she was the only British player to compete on a rain-soaked opening day, with the competition finally starting three and a half hours later than scheduled.
Kartal won a landslide victory in the opening set, but fell behind 3-0 in the second set, came back to win, and was forced into a tiebreak, losing 6-1 7-6 (7-5).
Habib puts Lebanon on the map
Hady Habib’s run in Australian Open history will continue after he became the first player to represent Lebanon in a Grand Slam singles tournament in the Open era.
Lebanon Qualification Hadi Habib By defeating China’s Buyun Chaokete 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 7-6 (8-6), he opened a new horizon for his country divided by civil war.
World no. The 219 became the first domestic player to win the men’s singles main draw of a Grand Slam in the professional era and absorbed the enthusiastic cheers of the raucous crowd that filled the small terrace of Court 13 at Melbourne Park.
With fans chanting his name, the 26-year-old Texas native raised his racket towards the crowd and hoisted the Lebanese flag after achieving a decisive tiebreak.
He represented Lebanon at the Paris Olympics and last year became the first Lebanese player to win the second-tier ATP Challenger Tour in Chile.
Rude is scared and survives.
Casper Ruud survived a major scare to avoid an opening-day defeat.
Men’s singles No. 6 seed casper rood survived a major scare to avoid their first Grand Slam opening match loss since Wimbledon four years ago.
The Norwegian was twice stopped by Spaniard Jaume Munar but proved too strong to cruise to a 6-3 1-6 7-5 2-6 6-1 win in the deciding set.
Ruud announced his engagement to Maria Galligani in November, and his fiancée was looking on.
In an on-court interview held at Rod Laver Arena, he appeared nervous, stuttering, perhaps more nervous than when he was facing Rafael Nadal in the French Open final or proposing to his girlfriend.
“My pulse was pounding as I was about to get down on my knees. It was a great moment. If you ask me now, I’m nervous,” Rudd said with a laugh.
“I will never forget playing Rafa in a Slam final, but I will also never forget kneeling for Maria. It was a beautiful moment and I think it was an even bigger moment.”
“I think they’re making fun of some of the other young guys (in the locker room) because they’re in long-term relationships. I’m hoping their girlfriends step up at some point!”
The Japanese veteran won in the 5th episode as well. Kei NishikoriHe beat Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro 4-6 6-7(7-4) 7-5 6-2 6-3 in the second set to win his second Grand Slam title since 2021.
The 35-year-old former US Open finalist has been plagued by injuries in recent years, but saved two match points in the third to complete the five-set record in four hours for a stunning 29 wins in 37 games. And 6 minutes.
Nishikori is quite famous for winning long-distance matches, and “even after the match, they both joked to me, ‘Five more sets.’
“It’s good to have records like that because I always have good confidence and the players know I have good records. It’s good pressure for them if I have those records.”
What’s happening on Sky Sports Tennis?
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- Dallas Open (ATP 500) – February 3-9
- Delray Beach Open (ATP 250) – February 10-16
- IEB+ Argentina Open (ATP 250) – February 10-16
- Open 13 Provence (ATP 250) – February 10-16
- Transylvania Open (WTA 250) – February 3-9
- Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open (WTA 500) – February 3-8
- Qatar Total Energy Open (WTA 1000) – February 9-15
- Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships (WTA 1000) – February 16-22
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