Top seed Jannik Sinner cruised in his Australian Open opener, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz took one step closer to a quarterfinal showdown, and No. 11 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was bounced by an unseeded American on Monday in Melbourne.
Italy’s Sinner began his title defense by defeating Nicolas Jarry in straight sets, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5), 6-1 in 2 hours and 40 minutes. Sinner survived 13 aces by Jarry and benefited from 50 unforced errors by the Chilean. Meanwhile, Sinner recorded 24 winners against just 12 unforced errors.
“It was a very close one because the first sets, they can go both ways,” Sinner said. “In the third set when I broke it the first time, that gave me a little bit of room to breathe.”
The third-seeded Alcaraz converted eight of 19 break points to dispose of Kazakhstan’s Alexander Shevchenko 6-1, 7-5, 6-1 in just under two hours. A four-time grand slam champion, Alcaraz is seeking his first Aussie title.
“I always say that it’s hard work,” Alcaraz said. “I try to bring the best of me every day. That’s the secret. Every day I try to be a better person and better player.”
No. 7 seed Djokovic did his part for a showdown with Alcaraz, rebounding for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win over wild card Nishesh Basavareddy. The match was Djokovic’s first with new coach Andy Murray.
“I’m obviously thrilled to have him in my corner,” Djokovic said. “I must say, it was a little bit of a strange experience to have him at courtside in my box. We played for over 20 years against each other at the highest level. Great to have him on the same side of the net. He gave me some great advice mid-match.”
Greece’s Tsitsipas dropped a 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 decision to Alex Michelsen in 2 hours and 43 minutes. Michelsen was aggressive at the net, converting 21 of 27 points and forced Tsitsipas into 12 break points, converting five.
Likewise, Australian Nick Kyrgios was bounced in his return by World No. 92 Jacob Fearnley of Great Britain 7-6 (3), 6-3, 7-6 (2). Kyrgios had played just two singles matches since October 2022 due to injuries.
In other seeded matches, No. 12 Tommy Paul outlasted Australia’s Christopher O’Connell in a five-setter that lasted four hours; No. 17 Frances Tiafoe held on to defeat Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in a five-setter that lasted 4 hours and 8 minutes; No. 15 Jack Draper of England was a five-set winner over Argentina’s Mariano Navone; No. 29 Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff; and No. 22 Sebastian Korda advanced in four sets.
Tenth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov was forced to retire in the second set to Italian Francesco Passaro, trailing 2-1 and down a set. No. 23 Alejandro Tabilo of Chile was defeated by Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena, and No. 28 Sebastian Baez of Argentina was eliminated by Frenchman Arthur Cazaux in five sets.
–Field Level Media
