The Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (4) dispelled the doubts generated during the ATP Cup with his shoulder discomfort after firmly beating the Swedish Mikael Ymer 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 in the first round of the Australian Open .
Tsitsipas, who closed the day at Melbourne Park, arrived at the first big event of the year with the uncertainty of his shoulder after undergoing surgery after his withdrawal from the ATP Finals held in Turin.
Ymer, executioner of Carlos Alcaraz (31) during the last edition, only executed two of the eleven break balls he had, after the Hellenic tennis player did not serve to the maximum of his possibilities. Tsitsipas, who will need victories of this type to recover the rhythm that led him to play the final of the last Roland Garros, will have the Argentine Sebastián Báez as his next hurdle, executioner of the Spanish Albert Ramos. The Greek reached the semi-finals last year after coming back from his quarter-final match against Spaniard Rafael Nadal in an epic battle.
Who are the favourites?
Russians Daniil Medvedev (2) and Andrey Rublev (5) convincingly beat Swiss Henri Laaksonen 6-1, 6-3, 7-6(3) and Italian Gianluca Mager in the first round of the Australian Open. 6-3, 6-2 and 6-2; while the Norwegian Casper Ruud (8) retired before his match against the Slovakian Alex Molcan due to an ankle injury.
The young Italian Jannik Sinner (11) was also the favorite after beating the Portuguese Joao Sousa, 6-4, 7-5 and 6-1. Medevdev, current champion of the United States Open and finalist in Melbourne Park, signed a plausible debut that confirmed his status as the great favorite after the deportation of Serbian Novak Djokovic (2). “He was playing amazing so I had to be patient. I like the pressure, last year it started well here in Australia after winning the ATP Cup and reaching the final here”, he commented after his match.
The Muscovite, who reached the second round for the fifth consecutive year, could face Nick Kyrgios in this one, if the Australian beats the English qualifier Liam Broady in his debut. His compatriot Rublev did not hesitate in his first step against the Italian after connecting 33 winners and 13 unforced errors, which contrasted with the 22 and 37 of his rival. Rublev, who fell in the quarterfinals last year, played his 50th match in Grand Slam competition.
This Tuesday night (9:30 pm Colombia time) Rafael Nadal will play against the German Yannick Hanfmann for the second round of the tournament.
EFE
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