WITH rain causing a major delay on Day 1, we have split the remainder of the Round 1 Australian Open review into two parts. First we look at the games that did not take place or were suspended from Day 1 that were completed on Day 2, with a further two articles – one men’s and one women’s – outlining the scheduled Day 2 results later.

MEN’S:

American Tennys Sandgren has booked a date with Matteo Berrettini in the second round after the world number 100 defeated Argentinian qualifier, Marco Trungelliti in straight sets. Sandgren had it easy in the first set with a 6-1 win, before having to battle hard on his way to a 6-1 6-4 7-5 triumph. The American used his serve-volleying technique well with an 82 per cent success rate on his first serve points, followed up by a 70 per cent win ratio when approaching the net. Along with 32 winners and 13 aces, he was too powerful for the Argentinian who was consistent on serve (70 per cent first serve) but could not break through while Sandgren had four breaks himself.

Australian Jordan Thompson provided some joy for Australian fans down the bottom half of the draw with a straight sets win over Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik. The 6-4 6-3 6-2 victory was impressive to move through to the Round of 64, hitting less winners (29 to 39), but also being more sensible with his shots, recording just 20 unforced errors to Bublik’s 49 (which included five return unforced errors). He broke six times to Bublik’s once across the match and was a ray of consistency in a strong performance.

Thompson now faces 12th seed Fabio Fognini who must have enjoyed a nice rest overnight, coming from two sets down when play was suspended yesterday, to run out a five-set victor. He had to battle hard but was superb on the second day, winning 3-6 6-7 6-4 6-3 7-6 with a 10-5 score in the super tiebreak. He weathered the Reilly Opelka storm of 35 aces and 60 winners, to continually battle away and break three times in the end, as well as hit 41 winners and serve up 11 aces himself. Most importantly, he only had the 44 unforced errors to Opelka’s 73, while being the more dominant party when approaching the net with a 78 per cent success rate.

T. Sandgren (USA) defeated [Q] M. Trungelliti (ARG) 6-1 6-4 7-5
J. Thompson (AUS) defeated A. Bublik (KAZ) 6-4 6-3 6-2
[12] F. Fognini (ITA) defeated R. Opelka (USA) 3-6 6-7 6-4 6-3 7-6 SUSPENDED

A couple of five-set thrillers rounded out the second eighth of the bottom half of the draw, with one coming from two sets two, while the other survived an almighty comeback. Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz found himself two sets to love down against Austrian qualifier, Dennis Novak before coming back with vigour to run out a 6-7 1-6 6-2 6-3 6-4 winner. The 31st seed had hit only 17 winners and 30 unforced errors in the opening two sets, but took control after that, getting into the groove to hit 34 winners and only 21 unforced errors in his charge home. Hurkacz pounded 16 aces and clocked up an average of 187 kmh serves, winning 76 per cent of his first serve points and breaking five times to his opponents’ three to move through to the second round.

In one of the more impressive performances, Australia’s John Millman upset in-form Frenchman, Ugo Humbert. The 21-year-old was coming off a title at Auckland but it mattered little to the journeyman Aussie who in front of a home crowd powered to victory, 7-6 6-3 1-6 7-5. It was not the cleanest performance by either player with a combined 127 unforced errors for just 57 winners, and Humbert won one more point than the Australian. However it was Millman who took his chances with a more consistent serve – just two double faults to the Frenchman’s 11 – that got him home in the end.

Also moving onto the next round was Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic who held on against a fast finishing Quentin Halys. The French qualifier almost completed the perfect comeback after being two tiebreakers down to level the scores only to eventually lose to Krajinovic, 7-6 7-6 3-6 4-6 7-5. Halys’ serving kept him in it with 32 aces and a mind-boggling 98 winners. Though it was fair to say the Frenchman just went all out with an equally stunning 15 double faults and 80 unforced errors. Krajinovic was more controlled with 51 winners and 44 unforced errors, while winning 52 per cent of his second serve points – compared to 37. His reward for victory is now facing Roger Federer in the second round.

Meanwhile in-form American Tommy Paul moved past Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer in four sets, coming back from a set down to win 4-6 6-4 6-4 6-4. Predominantly serving strongly without a huge amount of his power that he has shown at times, Paul won 70 per cent of his first serve and 76 per cent of his second serve points, making it difficult for Mayer to break. Though he did so four times, Paul broke his opponent six times as well as hit a clean 41 winners for 24 unforced errors. Mayer was okay throughout with a strong presence at the net, but it was not enough to get the win.

The final match was Italian Next Gen winner Jannik Sinner knocking off Australian qualifier Max Purcell in straight sets. Sporting a classy Hawaiian top, Sinner claimed the victory 7-6 6-2 6-4 over the young Australian with a mullet. Sinnik can be erratic with his shots at times – hitting 36 unforced errors from 27 winners – but has some nice skills that will only develop with more experience. He won 79 per cent of his first serve points, and broke Purcell five times during the match on his way to victory and a spot in the second round against Hungarian, Marton Fucsovics who knocked off 13th seed Denis Shapovalov.

J. Sinner (ITA) defeated [Q] M. Purcell (AUS) 7-6 6-2 6-4
T. Paul (USA) defeated L. Mayer (ARG) 4-6 6-4 6-4 6-4
[31] H. Hurkacz (POL) defeated [Q] D. Novak (AUT) 6-7 1-6 6-2 6-3 6-4
J. Millman (AUS) defeated U. Humbert (FRA) 7-6 6-3 1-6 7-5
F. Krajinovic (SRB) defeated [Q] Q. Halys (FRA) 7-6 7-6 3-6 4-6 7-5

Looking into the bottom quarter of the draw, two matches were completed over the two days with Canadian Milos Raonic winning the required extra game to finish off lucky loser, Lorenzo Giustino, while ninth seed Roberto Bautista Agut completed a three-set win over Feliciano Lopez. Bautista Agut was too good for the veteran, winning 75 and 70 per cent of his first and second serve points and playing a typical “RBA” game with his 36 winners and 17 unforced errors to lead in every statistical category against his countryman.

Bautista Agut now sets his sights on young Saudi Arabian-born Michael Mmoh who is representing the United States. At 22-years-old he saw past Spain’s Pablo Andujar and could boost his ranking well past his 200-plus current ranking. In the two hour match he served eight aces and had a consistent first serve, putting it in 79 per cent of the time while winning 44 per cent of his opponents’ serve points. He broke seven times to Andujar’s three, hitting 30 winners along the way on his road to the Round of 64.

There must be something about the flight from Auckland to Melbourne because while Humbert bowed out, Benoit Paire had to fight for his spot in a five-set win over German, Cedrick Marcel Stebe. It was a tough fight for four sets before the Frenchman and ASB Classic finalist ran away with it 6-0 in the deciding set. With the match on the line at two sets all, Paire produced a near-perfect set with four aces, 12 winners and only dropping three points on serve as he broke his opponent three times and restricted him to just 10 points in total.

His Round 2 opponent Marin Cilic had a much easier time, downing Frenchman Corentin Moutet, 6-3 6-2 6-4 to advance through to the next stage. Cilic won 83 and 77 per cent of his first and second serve points respectively, hit 34 winners and looked incredibly dangerous for an unseeded player capable of knocking off any top 30 opponent. He was far too good for Moutet and has a 4-1 head-to-head record against Paire so will start favourite in the matchup.

The final match of the eighth was Chile’s Cristian Garin winning in straight sets against Italian, Stefano Travaglia 6-4 6-3 6-4. In just over two hours, Garin won every possible area he could with a strong serve-volley game thanks to 72 per cent of his first serve points and 82 per cent of his net points won. He smashed 38 winners and only 23 unforced errors, while his opponent struggled to break the 36th ranked Chilean only converting one of his seven opportunities.

C. Garin (CHI) defeated S. Travaglia (ITA) 6-4 6-3 6-4
[32] M. Raonic (CAN) defeated [LL] L. Giustino (ITA) 6-2 6-1 6-3
[21] B. Paire (FRA) defeated C. Stebe (GER) 6-4 3-6 6-3 6-7 6-0
M. Cilic (CRO) defeated C. Moutet (FRA) 6-3 6-2 6-4
[WC] M. Mmoh (USA) defeated P. Andujar (ESP) 6-1 6-4 6-4
[9] R. Bautista Agut (ESP) defeated F. Lopez (ESP) 6-2 6-2 7-5

In the final eighth of the draw, a further five matches were completed on top of the three that finished on Day 1. It was a good day for Serbia with Dusan Lajovic coming from a first set deficit prior to the suspended play, only to come back and down Brit, Kyle Edmund for the first time in the pair’s history. It took a massive two hours and 46 minutes in an epic for what was essentially a straight sets win, but ultimately worth it for Lajovic who triumphed 7-6 6-3 7-6. He won 81 per cent of his first serves, smashed home 39 winners including three off the return, while forcing Edmund on the back foot with an impressive 37 per cent receiving points won.

At the top of the eighth, 14th seed Diego Schwartzman sent South African improver Lloyd Harris back to earth after a strong Adelaide carnival that saw him reach the final. Schwartzman posted a comfortable 6-4 6-2 6-2 victory in just under two hours to move through to the next round. It was Harris’ wild shots that were ultimately his undoing, hitting 47 unforced errors to Schwartzman’s 18, while only winning 40 per cent of his second serve points and breaking once to the Argentinian’s six times. Schwartzman now takes on Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina who defeated Slovakian qualifier, Norbert Gombos in five sets.

Davidovich Fokina had to come back from two sets to one down to win 4-6 6-4 2-6 6-3 6-2 in an armwrestle. The Spaniard hit less winners (40) and only won two more points overall, but broke six times to his opponents’ five which was the difference in the end. Neither player set the world on fire to be fair, but the world number 88 got the job done in just over three hours and booked a spot in the Round of 64.

With an even tougher task in Round 2, Japanese wildcard Tatsuma Ito will now head to Rod Laver Arena where he tries to stop the seven-time Australian Open champion, Novak Djokovic. Ito downed Indian lucky loser, Prajnesh Gunneswaran in straight sets 6-4 6-2 7-5, serving at 76 per cent efficiency, as well as winning 70 per cent of his first serve points. Ito was more controlled on serve despite four double faults, as Gunneswaran posted 13 aces, but struggled on his second serve with just 38 per cent success rate in the match.

Australian wildcard Marc Polmans had the most epic battle of the Australian Open so far, seeing off a comeback from Kazakhstan veteran, Mikhail Kukushkin in an unbelievable four hours and 17 minutes on Court 7. Polmans looked to be cruising when he shocked the world number 68 with the first two sets in the bag at 6-4 6-3, but Kukushkin was not to give up. Instead the veteran won the next two 6-4 7-6, including a 10-8 tiebreaker in the fourth to force a decider. Luckily for the home fans, they went home happy as the 133rd ranked, South African-born local won 6-4 6-3 4-6 6-7 6-4 to book a spot against Lajovic in the Round of 64. He will hope to be rested after the battle with 346 points played, but Polmans was economical with just 34 unforced errors whilst playing 53 winners. Kukushkin hit 84 winners, but struggled on Polman’s serve with just a 38 per cent success rate.

[14] D. Schwartzman (ARG) defeated L. Harris (RSA) 6-4 6-2 6-2
A. Davidovich Fokina (ESP) defeated [Q] N. Gombos (SVK) 4-6 6-4 2-6 6-3 6-2
[WC] M. Polmans (AUS) defeated M. Kukushkin (KAZ) 6-4 6-3 4-6 6-7 6-4
[24] D. Lajovic (SRB) defeated K. Edmund (GBR) 7-6 6-3 7-6
[WC] T. Ito (JPN) defeated [LL] P. Gunneswaran (IND) 6-4 6-2 7-5

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WOMEN’S:

Slovenian top 50 player, Polona Hercog booked a date with world number one Ash Barty in the second round following a straight sets victory over Swede, Rebecca Peterson. Hercog won 6-3 6-3 in a solid performance which saw her break four times to Peterson’s once, while winning almost half of her receiving points. In the match she produced a superior 68 and 53 per cent first serve point winning percentage, much higher than her opponent’s 48 per cent. She will need to improve to match it with Barty though who is on another level altogether.

Dangerous Belgian qualifier, Greet Minnen continued her run by moving into the second round thanks to a tight three-set win over Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus. Minnen triumphed 7-6 4-6 7-5 in a two hour and 39 minute battle on Court 15 where she hit 39 winners to 18 in a display of power. The Belgian also hit 62 unforced errors against the 94th ranked Sasnovich, but broke at crucial times, as well as controlled her first serve with a 70 per cent winning ratio.

Minnen now faces up-and-coming young star, Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina after the 20-year-old recorded a 6-3 6-2 victory over United States’ Bernada Pera. Rybakina lost to Pera last time they faced, but there were no troubles this time as she controlled play and backed up her recent title in Hobart and final at Shenzhen. Rybakina’s serve was a treat with an 87 per cent first serve percentage, while breaking three times from five opportunities and now allowing her opponent an opportunity to return the favour.

In the last remaining match in the eighth, 18th seed Alison Riske knocked over Chinese world number 51, Wang Yafan in three sets, 7-6 2-6 6-3 taking three hours on the dot to do so. Riske hit 45 winners throughout the contest to her opponent’s 41, and was stronger at the net with a 68 per cent winning ratio. Neither player’s serve was overly outstanding with just over 50 per cent on both first serve winning points, but it was standing up at the right time which Riske did in the deciding set to move through to the second round and face Yafan’s compatriot in Zhu Lin.

P. Hercog (SLO) defeated R. Peterson (SWE) 6-3 6-3
[Q] G. Minnen (BEL) defeated A. Sasnovich (BLR) 7-6 4-6 7-5
[29] E. Rybakina (KAZ) defeated B. Pera (USA) 6-3 6-2
[18] A. Riske (USA) defeated Y. Wang (CHN) 7-6 2-6 6-3

American 10th seed Madison Keys breezed through to Round 2 with a 6-3 6-1 triumph over Russian, Daria Kasatkina in under an hour. One of the outside favourites for the tournament, Keys started her campaign off on the right foot with the comfortable win, serving four aces as Kasatkina failed to produce an ace but recorded nine double faults in a disaster of a match on-serve. Keys hit 29 winners to five, including punishing the slower serving Kasatkina with eight return winners.

Keys now faces Netherlands’ Arantxa Rus who upset Magda Linette in three sets. After losing the first set in disappointing fashion, Rus bounced back to record a 1-6 6-3 6-4 victory in over two hours of action. Ranked 50 places higher, and statistically looking stronger on serve and at the net, it was more a case of the Pole’s loose shots that were costing her, racking up 51 unforced errors. Rus did not doing anything special other than continue to put pressure on with her first serve percentage of 78, while breaking even with five break games each.

Meanwhile Japanese qualifier, Nao Hibino downed China’s Peng Shuai in three sets. Shuai won the first set 6-4, before Hibino came back to post a 4-6 7-6 6-3 win in what was an odd set of circumstances given Hibino is actually placed a rank higher than her opponent at 103rd in the world. Hibino won 71 per cent of her first serve points and was efficient upon approaching the net, winning 81 per cent of her net points on her way to a massive 51 winners. Her second serve was a bit of a liability with Shuai hitting seven return winners, but in play action, the Japanese qualifier was too strong to move through to the next stage of the tournament.

Hibino faces a red-hot 22nd seed, Maria Sakkari who downed Russia’s Margarita Gasparyan 6-2 6-2. Sakkari recorded a whopping 92 per cent success rate on her first serve, and the Russian could not find a way through, failing to create a break point opportunity as the Greek posted four breaks in the match, winning the long rallies with 16 winners to four. Sakkari also won almost half of her receiving points, taking control of Gasparyan’s serve with the Russian recording just 50 and 43 per cent success on her first and second serve points respectively.

[10] M. Keys (USA) defeated D. Kasatkina (RUS) 6-3 6-1
A. Rus (NED) defeated M. Linette (POL) 1-6 6-3 6-4
[Q] N. Hibino (JPN) defeated S. Peng (CHN) 4-6 7-6 6-3
[22] M. Sakkari (GRE) defeated M. Gasparyan (RUS) 6-2 6-2

The biggest upset of the Day 1 scheduled matches was Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur bundling out 12th seed, Johanna Konta of Great Britain in straight sets, 6-4 6-2. The world number 87 was consistent throughout the win to open up the eighth of the draw, hitting 19 winners and only 12 unforced errors, while producing a 74 and 67 per cent winning ratio on her first and second serves. By contrast, the 13th ranked Konta only managed 60 and 36 per cent respectively, only managing to break once compared to Jabeur’s four times during the match which cost her and she became the highest ranked casualty of the Day 1 scheduled matches.

Jabeur now takes on Frenchwoman, Caroline Garcia who downed American Madison Brengle from a set down. Trailing after losing a tiebreaker 7-5, Garcia found the form that made her a top 40 player last year to run out a 6-7 6-2 6-2 winner in two hours. It was all decided off Garcia’s racquet with a massive 48 winners and 40 unforced errors, while Brengle was often reactive with just nine winners and 22 unforced errors. While the American did produce a serve percentage of 75 per cent, it was the only key area she excelled in as Garcia was more efficient once in play with a 72 per cent first serve win ratio, while breaking five times to one and putting down seven aces in the victory.

It was much easier for teenage Ukrainian star, Dayana Yastremska as the 23rd seed made light work of Slovenian qualifier, Kaja Juvan 6-1 6-1 in 54 minutes. Yastremska was just a class above with 11 winners to six, while Juvan hit 32 unforced errors to 18. Breaking five times and winning 78 and 70 per cent of her first and second serve points, Yastremska was a rock on serve, with Juvan unable to break and hit just one winner off the return. The 19-year-old now meets 2018 Australian Open winner, Caroline Wozniacki in Round 2.

Chinese 27th seed, Wang Qiang saw off the challenge of French veteran, Pauline Parmentier in straight sets. The 33-year-old received a wildcard entry into the Australian Open, but was bundled out by the world number 29, 7-6 6-3 in an hour and a half of action. It was a tight game for the most part, with Qiang being more economical thanks to her 17 winners and 28 unforced errors compared with 10 and 36 respectively for her opponent. Parmentier also served five double faults, while Qiang was must stronger off her second serve points with a 58 per cent success rate compared to just 24 per cent for the Frenchwoman.

In the other remaining match of the eighth, it was better news for France as Fiona Ferro breezed past Alison Van Uytvanck, 6-2 6-1 in an hour and 14 minutes. Despite being ranked 16 places lower than her opponent, the world number 63 had no problems throughout the game, breaking five times and saving all three break point opportunities from the Belgian. She broke even with her winners and unforced errors at 16-apiece, while controlling play with her serve, dropping only 14 points on-serve as her opponent struggled with just 41 per cent of her first serve points won.

O. Jabeur (TUN) defeated [12] J. Konta (GBR) 6-4 6-2
C. Garcia (FRA) defeated M. Brengle (USA) 6-7 6-2 6-2
[23] D. Yastremska (UKR) defeated [Q] K. Juvan (SLO) 6-1 6-1
[27] Q. Wang (CHN) defeated [WC] P. Parmentier (FRA) 7-6 6-3
F. Ferro (FRA) defeated A. Van Uytvanck (BEL) 6-2 6-1