Top-ranked Sabalenka and Alcaraz advance on opening day of Australian Open
MELBOURNE, Australia — Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz lived up to expectations on the opening night of the Australian Open, with the No. 1 seeds advancing in straight sets on Sunday in front of tennis greats Rod Laver and Roger Federer in the stands.
The first round match at Rod Laver Arena is in full swing, with a record number of fans at Melbourne Park that day reaching 100,763.
Venus Williams, 45, also set a record by becoming the oldest player in the Australian Open women’s singles draw.
At John Cain Arena, also known as the “People’s Court” because it’s open to fans for floor passes, Williams broke twice to go up 4-0 in the third set before Olga Danilovic rallied to win six games in a row, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion is playing singles as a wildcard in just her second Grand Slam since returning to tour last year, and she plans to continue playing doubles.
“I’m really proud of my effort today because I’m playing better every game and getting to where I want to be,” she said. “Now I just have to keep going and work on myself.”
After losing her first serve, Sabalenka defeated left-handed wild card player Tianso Rakotomanga Rajaona 6-4, 6-1.
“I didn’t play my best. She showed up. Keep powering. She played great,” said Sabalenka, who won the Australian title in 2023 and ’24 and was runner-up last year. “It’s a tricky start.”
Sabalenka was preparing for her first Grand Slam of the season in Brisbane but was more nervous than usual as Australian superstar Laver and 20-time Grand Slam champion Federer looked on.
“I’m a huge fan. I want to show great tennis so you guys enjoy watching me play,” she said. “It’s definitely stressful. I’m walking around thinking ‘Don’t look there, don’t look there!'”
Her next round match will be against Chinese qualifier Bai Zhuoxuan, who defeated 2021 French Open runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (10) in a match that lasted 2 hours and 43 minutes. No. 28 Emma Raducanu, who is likely to face Sabalenka in the third round, defeated Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-4, 6-1.
The first day of scheduled 15-match matches ended with Alcaraz beating Adam Walton 6-3, 7-6 (2), 6-2 to begin his quest to become the youngest player to complete a career Grand Slam.
Alexander Zverev, who finished runner-up here last year to Jannik Sinner, shook off a sluggish start to beat Gabriel Diallo 6-7 (7), 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the second round at Melbourne Park for the tenth consecutive year.
“Of course, when I saw the draw, I wasn’t too happy to be honest,” Zverev said of the tricky challenge posed by Diallo, ranked 41st. “He’s very young, very talented. Incredibly aggressive.”
No. 10 Alexander Bublik defeated Jenson Brooksby 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, and No. 29 Frances Tiafoe defeated Jason Kubler 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2. Kubler), Michael Zheng defeated Sebastian Korda 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (0), 6-3 in a first-round match in the United States.
Zheng, a collegiate star at Columbia University, advanced through the qualifiers and made his tour debut. He will next face No. 32 player Corentin Moutet. Moutet was booed after serving an underarm serve at match point and finally defeated Tristan Schoolkate 6-4, 7-6(1), 6-3.
Two women’s seeds were eliminated on the opening afternoon, with Elsa Jacquemot knocking out No. 20 Marta Kostyuk 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7), while Turkish qualifier Zeynep Sönmez defeated No. 11 7-5, 4-6, 6-4. Number player Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Sonmez paused play in the second set to help a ball boy struggling in the heat, and then the match medical team took over.
Seventh seed Jasmine Paolini and 12th seeds Elena Svitolina and Maria Sakkari all advanced in straight sets.
Former Wimbledon champion Matata Vondrousova withdrew from her scheduled first-round match due to a shoulder injury, giving up her main draw spot to lucky loser Taylor Townsend in the qualifying round to face Hayley Baptiste.
Baptiste won 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-3 in a 2 1/2 hour All-American match on Court 13.
Coco Gauff will face Kamila Rashimova on Monday at Rod Laver Arena. Iga Swiatek and Novak Djokovic have night match.
