Queenslander John Millman is through to the second round after a four-set victory over Feliciano Lopez at the AusOpen
Novak Djokovic is facing the prospect of being denied entry to the year’s second grand slam at Roland Garros after French authorities on Monday confirmed that the country’s vaccine mandate will extend to international athletes.
Questions have also turned to whether the Serbian could face any loss of earnings in the wake of the scandal, with personal apparel sponsor Lacoste releasing a statement on Monday night. “As soon as possible, we will be in touch with Novak Djokovic to review the events that have accompanied his presence in Australia,” it said.The world’s other No.1, the one who was allowed to grace Rod Laver Arena, made sure the title was represented in style with Ash Barty almost pulling off a double bagel. With the tournament desperate for some good mojo, the hometown favourite provided some welcome relief from the Novak Djokovic scandal which saw the men’s No.1 booted from the country. In his absence the women’s No.1 showed she was ready to take up the slack, blowing away a shell-shocked Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko 6-0 6-1. The match-up had the potential to be a dangerous encounter given Tsurenko had previously defeated Barty and then pushed her in the corresponding round two years ago. But this is a different Barty, now a two-time grand slam champion who has been at the top of the women’s game for three years running. Tsurenko found this out the hard way, not getting on the scoreboard in the opening set which Barty won in just 24 minutes. The trend continued in the second set with the Ukrainian simply having no answers to the power and precision from the Queenslander who was loving being back at Melbourne Park.Thanasi Kokkinakis’ dream summer has ended in disaster, with the popular comeback talent dumped from the Australian Open after a disappointing round one loss to German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann. Kokkinakis entered the tournament with high expectations and the most wins on tour in 2022 – care of his success at the Adelaide International – but that counted for little against the towering German, who floored the Australian with a straight-sets clinical display. Despite toppling fellow giants John Isner and Marin Cilic en route to the Adelaide International final, where he won his first Tour-level title last week, Kokkinakis has no answer to the German’s powerful serve. Hanfmann was near untouchable when landing his first serve, and came up clutch in the big moments, breaking Kokkinakis five times while having a perfect eight from eight record on break points saved. Even the backing of a raucous Court 3 crowd wasn’t enough to inspire Kokkinakis, who suffered regular body blows and looked a shadow of the player that roared last week to claim his maiden title in Adelaide.7:45: AEDT BARTY TAKES OPENING SETThe world number one has put on a clinic in the opening set of her first round match against Lesia Tsurenko of the Ukraine.Barty smashed eight winners, had two aces and won a whopping 15 more points than Tsurenko.7:20PM AEDT KOKK’S OPEN DREAM IN DANGER OF BLOWING UP Thanasi Kokkinakis is in serious trouble at Melbourne Park, with his Australian Open dream in danger of blowing up at the hands of a German qualifier. The towering Yannick Hanfmann has grabbed a two-sets-to-love lead, with Kokkinakis’ stunning lead-in form nowhere to be seen. Despite toppling fellow giants John Isner and Marin Cilic en route to the Adelaide International final, where he won his first Tour-level title, Kokkinakis has no answer to the German’s powerful serve.7:15PM BARTY OUT ON COURT FOR OPENER The Aussie flavour to the night session is only just getting started, with Ash Barty out on court to take on Lesia Tsurenko of the Ukraine.I guess we can thank Novak Djokovic for that.6:55PM: STARS RUSH TO HELP AS BALLGIRL COLLAPSES It is one thing to show sportsmanship on court, but it’s another to display it when the match is on the line. That’s what Spaniard Pedro Martinez and Argentinian Federico Delbonis did during their marathon first-set tiebreak, rushing to the aid of a ballgirl who had collapsed due to the heat on the outdoor court. The score was 8-9 in the tiebreak at that stage, with Martinez running to the other end to rush to her aid along with Delbonis. Martinez went on to win the lengthy tiebreak 17-15 and the match in four sets, but this match will be best remembered for this act of kindness during a critical moment of their contest.American 18th seed Coco Gauff has been dumped out of the Australian Open in a blaze of unforced errors, losing 6-4, 6-2 to China’s Wang Qiang in a huge upset. Gauff, the youngest player in the draw at 17, was dominated by the world number 110 in just 73 minutes of action on Margaret Court Arena. Gauff’s only bright spot in a one-sided second set came as she saved four match points from 5-0 down. She was comprehensively beaten by Wang for the first time in three meetings between the pair, melting down to make 38 unforced errors. “You know I lost two times against her last year so I just tried my best to focus on court,” said Wang.It hasn’t been a great start to the Australian Open for Thanasi Kokkinakis, who has dropped the opening set of his match with Yannick Hanfmann.Unforced errors have been the big problem for the Aussie. He has 16 already, double what Hanfmann has.5:50PM: KOKKINAKIS HITS COURT FOR ROUND 1 Fresh off his Adelaide title, Thanasi Kokkinakis is out on court for his opening round clash against German Yannick Hanfmann. It is a huge opportunity for Kokkinakis to continue his winning run of form, with Hanfmann ranked just inside the world’s top 100. The only question for Kokkinakis is how his body responds to the big week in Adelaide. Can he back up with a big five setter if required? Stay tuned for the updates.He might not be at Melbourne Park but the shadow of Novak Djokovic is still hanging over the Australian Open. Almost every player has been asked their opinion about what happened to the recently deported world No.1 – with some giving long and insightful answers on the situation. Naomi Osaka didn’t exactly fall into the category when she was asked about Djokovic after her first Round win.Reporter: Do you believe Djokovic should be playing at the Australian Open this year?Reporter: Asking what other players think of the situation.That wasn’t just a pass. It was a hard pass.Some players thank their coaches after a win. Others give a shout out to their sponsors.After securing a second round berth, the Italian 7th seed wrote: “Imodium, Grazie!” on the camera as he left the court.Actually, we don’t even want to try.Well, that was easy. Rafael Nadal is through to the second round at Melbourne Park. You’d say he barely broke a sweat in the 6-1 6-4 6-2 thrashing, but we know the Spaniard is one of the most prolific sweaters on tour. Even so, he couldn’t have looked anymore impressive in the 6-1 6-4 6-2 domination of American Marcos Giron.The Novak Djokovic sideshow isn’t finished at the Australian Open, just yet. Popular Frenchman Gael Monfils burst through to the second-round with a fantastic straight-sets win over Federico Coria. Monfils stands to benefit from the Serbian star’s exit, given he was slated to take on the 20-time grand slam winner in the fourth round, but when he fronted the press afterwards, he quickly shutdown any Djokovic-angled questions. “To be honest, I just think about the tournament now,” he said when asked for his thoughts on the saga. Monfils was prompted to talk about the unfolding opportunity for the remainder of the men’s tour, without the fearsome Djokovic locked in on grand slam title No.21 to worry about.“I don’t see any opportunity. You have opportunity to play a match after each win,” he said.“You know me, I’m just happy to have another opportunity to win another match, maybe go to another third one in the Australian Open.” Monfils beamed after the tremendous victory as the two embraced at the net, a far cry from the tears he shed just under 12 months ago following a shock first-round exit.Aussie James Duckworth has just lost the fourth set 6-2 to Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, after he clinched both the second and third sets. He is sure to have the crowd behind him, but Mannarino will go into the deciding set with all the momentum. In other news, 10th ranked Tunisian star Ons Jabeur has withdrawn just minutes before her first-round match.
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