Djokovic inherits Kecmanovic in the first round”>Medvedev, who celebrated his first Grand Slam title at the US Open in New York in September, is the highest-ranked player at the Australian Open due to the absence of Serbian world number one Novak Djokovic. With a triumph in Melbourne, the 25-year-old Russian could climb to the top of the ATP rankings, as could German Alexander Zverev.
As expected, Medvedev put on a show against Kyrgios, known as a provocateur and entertainer. The 26-year-old Australian entertained and thrilled the audience in the “night session” in the Rod Laver Arena, which was about half full, and delivered spectacular rallies with Medvedev. The world number 115 lost in the last game. but then briefly lost his composure and smashed a racket, which he then gave to a fan as a souvenir.
Medvedev seemed emotional after the game after the audience had repeatedly disturbed him between the serves. During the winner’s interview, the Russian thought he was being booed, but the spectators only imitated Cristiano Ronaldo’s “Siuuu” goal celebration, which Kyrgios had taken over as a battle cry. However, the 25-year-old did not hold back with criticism. “It’s a bit disappointing when they make so much noise between first serve and second serve. I think some people just have low IQs,” he said in an interview with Eurosport after the match.
Murray fails due to qualifiers
Andy Murray retired two days after his emotional opening win. The 34-year-old Scot lost to the Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel 4:6 4:6 4:6. On Tuesday, Murray defeated Georgian Nikolos Bassilashvili in five sets and almost four hours. It was an emotional comeback after the former world number one announced the end of his career in 2019 due to persistent hip problems. After an operation he had come back again. At the Australian Open, Murray reached the final five times but never won the title. Last year he was absent from Melbourne due to a CoV infection. This time he took part thanks to a wildcard.
The numbers four and five, on the other hand, are in the round of 32: Stefanos Tsitsipas struggled against Argentinian Sebastien Baez before beating 7: 6 (7/1) 6: 7 (5/7 ) 6:3 6:4 left the pitch as the winner. Andrei Rublew rolled over the Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis at 6:4 6:2 6:0 in 107 minutes. The Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, seeded number 9, needed 4:19 hours at 7: 6 (7/4) 6: 7 (4/7) 7: 6 (7/5) 7: 6 (7/4). Alejandro Davidovich Fokina from Spain.
Muguruza and Kontaveit already out
Meanwhile, in the women’s second round, Garbine Muguruza and Anett Kontaveit, the two finalists of the WTA Finals a few months ago, had to pack their bags in the second round. The number three seeded Spaniard Muguruza lost to the French Alize Cornet 3:6 3:6, the Estonian Kontaveit, number six of the tournament, also only played six games against the up-and-coming 19-year-old Danish Clara Tauson.
Muguruza later justified her exit with poor pre-season preparation because her entire coaching staff had tested positive for the corona virus. “They all got Covid-19 before they were here. We couldn’t be together for 15 days,” the Venezuelan-born explained. “It was a stressful start to the year.”
Sabalenka makes 19 double mistakes
The second in the world rankings, Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus, was anything but convincing in the third round: she made life difficult for herself with no less than 19 double faults (six of them in the first game of the game) before beating the Chinese Wang Xinyu in three sets 1-6 6-4 6-2 defeated.
In addition, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkowa (RUS/10) retired the former US Open winner Samantha Stosur from Australia with a score of 6:2 6:2. At least in singles, but in doubles she is still successful and stays on the tour. Wild card player Christopher O’Connell gave reason to celebrate for the Australians, who unexpectedly knocked out the Argentinian Diego Schwartzman, who was number 13, 7: 6 (8/6) 6: 4 6: 4.
