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 outside courts before a huge thunderstorm hit Melbourne Park, sending spectators running for cover and causing a delay of more than six hours.
The matches continued as scheduled on the three covered courts, and Sabalenka opened the night session on Rod Laver Arena with a 6-3 6-2 victory over former US Open champion Sloane Stephens.
While it was a tough draw on paper, Stephens has slipped to 81 in the rankings and, barring a mini revival from the American when she won three games in a row after losing the first four, this was smooth sailing for Sabalenka, who won her first major championship at Melbourne Park in 2023, then added another last January, before raising her total to 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 am super happy to be back,” Sabalenka said. “I love this place.”
She added: “It was a tough match, always tough matches against her. Not that I played my best probably but I was glad I was able to close this match in straight sets.”
The player Sabalenka beat in the final last year, fifth seed Qinwen Zheng, also safely reached round two.
The 22-year-old from China, who went on to win Olympic gold in Paris, did not have things all her own way against Romanian qualifier Anca Todoni but battled to a 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 victory.
Zheng looked in complete control serving for the set at 5-4 and leading 40-0 only for Todoni to win five points in a row.
The Romanian then held three set points with Zheng serving at 5-6 but could not take any of them and things were comfortable for the fifth seed thereafter.
“The first match is always not easy,” said Zheng in her on-court interview. “She’s playing really good but I was doing a bit stupid mistakes at 5-4 40-0, I don’t know what happened there.”
Mirra Andreeva became the first player to move into the second round after the 17-year-old beat Czech Marie Bouzkova
Teenager Mirra Andreeva could be a factor come the latter stages of the tournament and she began strongly with a 6-3 6-3 victory over Marie Bouzkova.
But 29th seed Linda Noskova, who upset Iga Swiatek on her way to the quarter-finals last year, fell to a 5-7 6-3 6-4 loss against talented Dane Clara Tauson.
Brit Kartal falls short on Australian Open debut
Sonay Kartal (right) has risen rapidly up the rankings during the second half of last season, winning a first WTA Tour title in Tunisia and breaking into the top 100
Sonay Kartal’s comeback fell short as her Melbourne debut ended in defeat to Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.
British No 3 Kartal rose rapidly up the rankings during the second half of last season, winning a first WTA Tour title in Tunisia and breaking into the top 100.
That earned her a place in the main draw in Melbourne, and she was the only British player in action on a rain-soaked opening day, with the contest finally getting under way three and a half hours after its scheduled slot.
Kartal was blown away in the opening set but recovered from 3-0 down in the second set to force a tie-break before losing out 6-1 7-6 (7-5).
In the second game, both players thought a Bouzas Maneiro serve had been called out, only to eventually realise that the call had come from a neighbouring court.
With line calls now automated and no line judges on the court, it can be difficult for players to determine where the call has come from.
“They all sound the same,” said Kartal. “I was like, ‘God’. I think on ours the sound of his voice was male, so I was just listening out for the male voice instead of the female voice.”
She added: “I’ll bounce back from this. I’ve got plenty more chances and good matches that are coming up pretty soon.”
Kartal was the only British player in action on the opening day, with Jack Draper, Jacob Fearnley and Jodie Burrage all due to begin their campaigns on Monday.
Habib puts Lebanon on the map
Hady Habib’s history-making run at the Australian Open will continue after the first man to represent Lebanon in a Grand Slam singles tournament in the Open era became the first to win a match
Lebanese qualifier Hady Habib broke new ground for the strife-torn nation as he beat China’s Bu Yunchaokete 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 7-6 (8-6).
The world No 219 became his country’s first player to win a men’s singles main draw match at a Grand Slam in the professional era and soaked up wild cheers from a rowdy crowd packing the small terraces on Melbourne Park’s Court 13.
With fans chanting his name, the Texas-born 26-year-old raised his racket at the crowd and held up a Lebanese flag after claiming the decisive tiebreak.
He represented Lebanon at the Paris Olympics and became the country’s first player to win an event on the second-tier ATP Challenger Tour in Chile last year.
Ruud survives scare
Casper Ruud survived a major scare to avoid an opening-round loss
In the men’s singles, sixth seed Casper Ruud survived a major scare to avoid a first opening-round loss at a Grand Slam since Wimbledon four years ago.
The Norwegian was twice pegged back by Spaniard Jaume Munar but proved too strong in the deciding set to claim a 6-3 1-6 7-5 2-6 6-1 victory.
Ruud announced his engagement to Maria Galligani in November and his fiancee was watching on.
When the Norwegian was asked if he was more nervous while playing Rafael Nadal in the French Open final or asking his girlfriend to marry him, he visibly tensed up, stuttering in his on-court interview at Rod Laver Arena.
“The pulse got up there when you’re about to go down on your knees, it was a great moment. I’m nervous now when you ask me about it,” a smiling Ruud said.
“I’ll never forget playing Rafa in a Slam final, but for sure I’ll also never forget going down on my knee to Maria. It was a beautiful moment, I think it was a bigger moment.
“There’s a few other young guys [in the locker room] that have been in relationships for a long time, so I’m kind of teasing them. I hope for their girlfriends that they step up at some point!”
Also prevailing in a fifth was Japanese veteran Kei Nishikori, who came from two sets down to beat Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro 4-6 6-7 (7-4) 7-5 6-2 6-3 for just his second Grand Slam victory since 2021.
The 35-year-old former US Open finalist has been dogged by injuries in recent years but, after saving two match points in the third, he extended his five-set record to a superb 29 wins from 37 matches, coming through in four hours and six minutes.
Nishikori has quite the reputation for winning in matches that go the distance, and he said: “Even after the match, everybody, a couple of players, was joking to me, ‘another five sets’.
“It’s good to have that record because I always have good confidence, and players know that I have a good record. It’s good pressure for them if I have that.”
What’s coming up on Sky Sports Tennis?
- ABN AMRO Open Rotterdam (ATP 500) – 3-9 February
- Dallas Open (ATP 500) – 3-9 February
- Delray Beach Open (ATP 250) – 10-16 February
- IEB+ Argentina Open (ATP 250) – 10-16 February
- Open 13 Provence (ATP 250) – 10-16 February
- Transylvania Open (WTA 250) – 3-9 February
- Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open (WTA 500) – 3-8 February
- Qatar TotalEnergies Open (WTA 1000) – 9-15 February
- Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships (WTA 1000) – 16-22 February
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