Australian Open: Kohlschreiber can still do it, Struff pushes frustration

Philipp Kohlschreiber can still do it, but is now also thinking of retiring. Jan-Lennard Struff disappointed again at the Australian Open. Angelique Kerber is in action against Estonian Kaia Kanepi in the morning (NOW in the live ticker). US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez has already been eliminated – and Andy Murray celebrated a terrific return.

Philipp Kohlschreiber was “impeccably” satisfied with his performance, Jan-Lennard Struff was frustrated again. While the 38-year-old veteran from Augsburg reached the second round of the Australian Open with a concentrated performance, the German number two again had to cope with an early exit from a Grand Slam tournament.

Kohlschreiber confidently beat the Italian Marco Cecchinato 6: 4, 7: 5, 7: 6 (7: 0) and now meets Roberto Bautista Agut (Spain/No. 15). The 31-year-old Warsteiner Struff, on the other hand, clearly failed because of the Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp. The German number two lost to the US Open quarterfinalist on Tuesday 4: 6, 3: 6, 2: 6.

The hopes of qualifier Maximilian Marterer for a surprise against the American Taylor Fritz were not fulfilled either, the 26-year-old Nürnberger lost 6:7 (8:10), 3:6, 2:6.

Later in the day Angelique Kerber is still challenged on her 34th birthday as the last remaining German player in the tournament. The former world number one meets the Estonian Kaia Kanepi. Alexander Zverev, Dominik Koepfer, Yannick Hanfmann and Oscar Otte reached the second round on Monday.

Australian Open: Kohlschreiber talks about the end of his career

It’s a great success for Kohlschreiber, he only wants to travel to selected events at an advanced tennis age: “I decided to go full throttle until Wimbledon.” After that he wants to see how his ranking position looks like. “If I play tennis successfully, score points and still get into the tournaments that I want to play, I would continue,” said Kohlschreiber. Otherwise, after more than 20 years as a pro, he would consider retiring from the tour.

Meanwhile, Struff was pondering why he was still not successful in Melbourne despite the changed preparation. “I don’t know why things aren’t going so well here,” he said: “With a good serve and following, I could actually be good here. It wasn’t really good today.”

Only in 2018 did he survive the first round of the first Grand Slam of the year. In addition, after Wimbledon and the US Open last year, the Davis Cup player lost his opening duel at a major for the third time in a row.

Australian Open: Title favorite Medvedev dissatisfied, but going on

The Russian title favorite Daniil Medvedev was not able to fully convince at the start of the Australian Open. The 25-year-old US Open winner ultimately won 6: 1, 6: 4, 7: 6 (7: 3) against the initially too timid Swiss Henri Laaksonen, but has to improve. Medvedev became increasingly dissatisfied with himself in the second and third sets, but kept his nerve in the decisive phases.

Now the world number two from Moscow could meet the crowd’s favorite Nick Kyrgios. Medvedev is the highest-seeded professional in Melbourne due to the involuntary absence of last year’s titleholder Novak Djokovic. Together with Alexander Zverev, he is one of the clear contenders for the title, and the 20-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal must also be considered.

Last September, Medvedev secured the first major title of his career with a final victory over Djokovic in New York.

Australian Open: Murray wins crime thriller on return

Three years ago Andy Murray announced in Melbourne that his career was probably over – now the 34-year-old Scotsman celebrated a triumphant first-round win in a five-set crime thriller against the world number 23 on his first return to the Australian Open. Nikolos Basilashvili. Three-time Grand Slam winner Murray defeated the Georgian 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5 on Tuesday.

After the match, the Briton, who was five times in the final of the Australian Open and always lost, first looked at the sky devoutly and then roared his joy. “It was a very tough three or four years,” said Murray: “I thought I’d played my last match here three years ago. It’s great to win a fight like this over five sets here.”

Murray, currently 113th in the world, finished three years ago. The hip hurt constantly, no therapy brought relief. And so, in January 2019, the British tennis hero sat down in front of the press with a trembling voice and tears in his eyes and announced his departure from professional tennis.

He now plays with a metal surface prosthesis and can still keep up, as Murray impressively demonstrated against Basilashvili, last year’s tournament winner in Munich.

Australian Open: Muguruza continues – Fernandez already out

The Spanish title contender Garbine Muguruza lived up to her role as favorite and mastered her first duel in Melbourne for the tenth time in a row. The 28-year-old beat France’s Clara Burel 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday and remains in contention for the first major trophy of the year.

Third-seeded Muguruza won the French Open in 2016 and Wimbledon a year later before falling far down the world rankings. Last year she returned to the top of the world, winning titles in Chicago and Dubai before landing a coup at the WTA Finals in Guadelajara in November. Now Muguruza wants to build on that in Melbourne.

On the other hand, US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez and two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova are out. Canadian Fernandez lost to Australian Maddison Inglis, who started with a wildcard. The Czech Kvitova found no recipe against the Romanian Sorana Cirstea and lost 2:6, 2:6. Estonian Anett Kontaveit, who has been in excellent form for months, beat Kvitova’s compatriot Katerina Siniakova 6:2, 6:3.

Australian Open Day 2: Key Results