The high-profile women’s match on Day 2 features current and former US Open champions Emma Raducanu and Sloane Stephens in the first round. Stephens has six WTA tournament titles, including the 2018 US Open title.
The 19-year-old Raducanu has just the one title, but it's a major. “I watched Sloane win the U.S. Open . . . I hit with her last year actually,” Raducanu said in a pre-tournament news conference. “Obviously you don’t win a Grand Slam without being very capable.”
Second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka opens against Australia wild-card entry Storm Sanders, and No. 3 Garbine Muguruza opens play on Rod Laver against Clara Burel. In men's play, second-seeded Daniil Medvedev — now effectively the top seed after Novak Djokovic had his visa cancelled and was deported for not being vaccinated against COVID-19 — plays Henri Laaksonen.
No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas takes on Mikael Ymer in a night match. Andy Murray, a three-time Grand Slam singles winner but a five-time runner-up at Melbourne Park, plays Nikoloz Basilashvili. Murray is coming off his run to the final at last week’s Sydney tournament where he beat two top 25 players — Reilly Opelka and Basilashvili — before losing in the final to top-seeded Aslan Karatsev.
TUESDAY’S FORECAST
Mostly cloudy, high of 21 Celsius (70 Fahrenheit).
MONDAY’S WEATHER
Mostly cloudy but sunny later in the day, High of 23 C (74 F).
MONDAY’S KEY RESULTS
Women’s First Round: No. 1 Ash Barty beat Lesia Tsurenko 6-0, 6-1; defending champion Naomi Osaka beat Maria Osorio 6-3, 6-3; No. 4 Barbora Krejcikova beat Andrea Petkovic 6-2, 6-0; No. 5 Maria Sakkari beat Tatjana Maria 6-4, 7-6 (2); No. 8 Paula Badosa beat Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4, 6-0; Madison Keys beat No. 11 Sofia Kenin 7-6 (2), 7-5; No. 15 Elina Svitolina beat Fiona Ferro 6-1, 7-6 (4); Wang Qiang beat No. 18 Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-2; No. 22 Belinda Bencic beat Kristina Mladenovic 6-4, 6-3.
Men’s First Round: No. 3 Alexander Zverev beat Daniel Altmaier 7-6 (3), 6-1, 7-6 (1); No. 6 Rafael Nadal beat Marcos Giron 6-1, 6-4, 6-2; No. 7 Matteo Berrettini beat Brandon Nakashima 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (5), 6-3; No. 14 Denis Shapovalov beat Laslo Djere 7-6 (3), 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (3); No. 17 Gael Monfils beat Federico Coria 6-1, 6-1, 6-3.
STATS OF THE DAY
70: number of match wins for Nadal in Australian Open singles draws. He first played at Melbourne Park in 2004 and won the tournament in 2009.
40: Feliciano Lopez became just the second 40-year-old man to compete in the Australian Open singles main draw in the Open era. His 20th Australian Open campaign, and 79th consecutive major, ended in a first-round loss to John Millman.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“It’s very complicated, a very messy situation. You can take either side. It’s honestly very sad that it had to end that way” — U.S. player Amanda Anisimova on top-ranked Novak Djokovic's deportation from Australia.
(Reported by AP)
