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Tennis fans are turning their attention to Melbourne this week as the sport’s stars gather for the first Open of the season.
For Rafa and Roger it was business as usual at the Rod Laver arena, with both players easing into the second round with convincing wins over Marcos Daniel 6-0 5-0 (retired) and Lucas Lacko 6-1 6-1 6-3 respectively. Federer is seeking his 17th Grand Slam title, but if he fails to win, it will be the first time he has not held one of the coveted slams since 2003. Nadal on the other hand is aiming to become the first man to hold all four slams since Rod Laver managed the feat over 60 years ago in 1969.
Britain’s own Andy Murray went through after Karol Beck withdrew, with Murray in a commanding position at 6-3 6-1 4-2, looking very comfortable on his preferred surface once again.
There were also convincing wins for seeds Novak Djokovic, who beat Marcel Granollers 6-1 6-3 6-1, Robin Soderling, who overcame Poito Starace 6-4 6-2 6-2, as well as for Andy Roddick, Fernando Verdasco, Thomas Berdych and Juan Martin del Potro. Del Potro is playing in his first slam since recovering from a wrist injury and looks to be heading towards a showdown with Murray in a last 16: an exciting prospect.
David Ferrer dropped a set against Jarkko Nieminen, but recovered to win 3-1, while Gael Monfils, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Mardy Fish all had to come from two sets down to go through to round two. Marcos Baghdatis provided another spectacle, as he often does, keeping his Cypriot entourage on the edge of their seats throughout the match as he defeated Grega Zemlja in five sets.
However the match of the round award has to go to the clash between David Nalbandian and Lleyton Hewitt, with Nalbandian saving two match points to eventually win a 93 minute fifth set 9-7, with the whole match lasting nearly five hours.
There were casualties amongst the seeds as Lukaz Kubot overcame 18th seed Sam Querrey and Nikolay Davydenko fell foul of Germany’s Florian Mayer.
In the women’s draw, the shock of the round was Kim Clijsters subjecting Dinara Safina to an embarrassing ‘double-bagel’ – destroying her 6-0 6-0 in just 45 minutes. First seed Caroline Wozniacki beat Gisela Dulko, and Venus Williams overcame Sara Errani with a typically powerful display.
Justine Henin, seeking her second Australian Open and eighth Grand Slam title, had to come back from a set down to beat India’s Sania Mirza 2-1 and will face our very own Elena Baltacha in the second round, who battled back fantastically to beat Jamie Hampton 2-1. Baltacha joins fellow Brit Anne Keothavong in the second round, who defeated Arina Rodionova in an even contest.
Vera Zvonereva, currently world number two, also reached the second round untroubled, as did Sam Stosur and Jelena Jankovic. Three seeds went crashing out, with 17th seed Aravane Rezai, 19th seed and Grand Slam winner Ana Ivanovic and 28th seed Daniela Hantuchova all failing to overcome unseeded opponents.
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