MELBOURNE, Australia — Iga Swiatek knows she still has work to do in her quest for a first Australian Open title and a career Grand Slam.
No. 2 Swiatek defeated No. 130 Chinese qualifier Yuan Yue 7-6 (5), 6-3 in the first round on Monday night.
Novak Djokovic has won a record 10 titles in Australia among his 24 Grand Slam titles and is still beating that record.
He equaled two records in tennis history by starting his 21st Australian Open and 81st Grand Slam tournament, and set another milestone with his 100th win at Melbourne Park on Monday night.
The 38-year-old Djokovic defeated Pedro Martinez 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in the first round and became the first man to win 100 or more matches in three Grand Slam tournaments.
“I like the sound of it,” he said. “The Centurion is great.”
Swiatek won Wimbledon last year and also has four French Open titles and a 2022 U.S. Open title, making the Australian Open the only Grand Slam missing from her career. She has reached the semifinals twice.
Yuan Yuan swung freely and connected with the winning ball to take a 5-3 lead. Swiatek had to make changes.
“I was a little rusty at first,” she said. “There’s been a lot of ups and downs, but overall, I still have something to work on. I’m just going to focus on that.”
Trailing 5-3 in the first set, she served in the love game, forcing Yuan Shanshan to win the serve. Swiatek broke serve to level the set, and then in the decider she kept her cool and converted on the second set point.
“I was a little nervous at first. I needed to get my legs moving. Keep hitting my shots. Be brave and make decisions,” she said of the change. “When everything goes well, it’s not hard to win. It wasn’t today, but I was able to win.”
Swiatek was disrupted in his preparations for the year’s first major, losing two singles matches in the Fed Cup but helping Poland win the title for the first time.
One of those losses came to third-ranked Coco Gauff, who also struggled a bit before defeating Kamila Rashimova 6-2, 6-3 in the opener on Rod Laver Arena the next day.
Gauff has won two Grand Slam titles but, like Swiatek, has never reached the semi-finals at Melbourne Park.
She double-faulted six times in the first set against Rashimova but found her space in the second set. It’s not a new problem – she committed a tour-high 431 double faults last year – but it’s one that Goff is working on.
“I mean, it’s just the first set,” Goff said. “I had a triple-double in the first game, and when I finished that game, I mean, everything clicked.”
Amanda Anisimova, the runner-up in the past two majors, and No. 6 Jessica Pegula won in straight sets to join No. 8 Mirra Andreeva, No. 17 Victoria Mboko and No. 25 Paula Badosa.
2020 champion Sofia Kenin suffered her fifth consecutive first-round exit when she lost 6-3, 6-2 to fellow American Peyton Stearns at Melbourne Park, while 15th-ranked Emma Navarro lost in three sets to Magda Linette.
Priscilla Hon reached the second round of her hometown Grand Slam for the first time in six years and helped her opponent Marina Stakusic leave the court in a wheelchair after collapsing with severe leg cramps during the Canadian qualifying round.
Another Canadian player retired early due to cramps, with No. 7 Felix Auger-Aliassime withdrawing from his match against Portugal’s Nuno Borges. When Auger-Aliassime came to the net to shake hands, Borges led 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Stan Wawrinka kicked off his farewell season at the Grand Slam with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory over Laslo Djere. The 2014 champion announced last month that 2026 would be his final year on the Elite Tour.
“This is my last year. I haven’t been back in a long time!” he said. “The passion is still intact. Today was great. I’m happy I won – I got a chance to have another fight here.”
Three-time Australian Open runner-up Daniil Medvedev defeated Jesper de Jong 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 (2), and others advancing include No. 6 Alex De Minaur, No. 12 Casper Rudd, No. 13 Andrei Rublev, No. 19 seeds Tommy Paul and Riley Opelka.
A total of 101,696 fans descended on Melbourne Park on Monday, surpassing the tournament’s single-day record of 100,763 set on Sunday.
