Australian Open 2024 Results: Instant Reactions to Tuesday's Winners and Losers
Jessica Pegula's quest for her first Grand Slam title started without any problems on Tuesday at the 2024 Australian Open.
The fifth-seeded American breezed into the second round with a straight-set win over Rebecca Marino.
Pegula entered Melbourne as one of two American women in the top five seed line. No. 4 seed Coco Gauff won her first-round match in straight sets on Monday.
Tuesday was a business-as-usual day for all of the top players in the men's and women's singles draws.
Top seed Iga Swiatek and No. 3 seed Elena Rybakina joined Pegula in the second round with easy victories.
No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz finished off play on Rod Laver Arena with an easy win over Richard Gasquet.
Alcaraz had the easiest first-round match of the top men in action on Tuesday. Alexander Zverev and Holger Rune each advanced in four sets.
Tuesday Results
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Men's Singles
No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz def. Richard Gasquet, 7-6 (5), 6-1, 6-2
No. 6 Alexander Zverev def. Dominik Koepfer, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3), 6-3
No. 8 Holger Rune def. Yoshihito Nishioka, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4
No. 11 Casper Ruud def. Albert Ramos Vinolas, 6-1, 6-3, 6-1
No. 13 Grigor Dimitrov def. Marton Fucsovics, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (1), 6-2
No. 14 Tommy Paul def. Gregoire Barriere, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3
No. 19 Cameron Norrie def. Juan Pablo Varillas, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2
No. 28 Tallon Griekspoor def. Roman Safiullin, 2-6, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4, 7-5
Sumit Nagal def. No. 31 Alexander Bublik, 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (5)
No. 32 Jiri Lehecka def. Bernabe Zapata Miralles, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3
Women's Singles
No. 1 Iga Swiatek def. Sofia Kenin, 7-6 (2), 6-2
No. 3 Elena Rybakina def. Karolina Pliskova, 7-6 (6), 6-4
No. 5 Jessica Pegula def. Rebecca Marino, 6-2, 6-4
No. 11 Jelena Ostapenko def. Kimberly Birrell, 7-6 (5), 6-1
No. 12 Zheng Qinwen def. Ashlyn Krueger, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
No. 14 Daria Kasatkina def. Peyton Stearns, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
No. 18 Victoria Azarenka def. Camila Giorgi, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
Wang Yafan def. No. 22 Sorana Cirstea, 0-6, 7-5, 6-2
No. 27 Emma Navarro def. Wang Xiyu, 6-1, 6-7 (5), 7-5
Oceane Dodin def. No. 29 Zhu Lin, 6-4, 6-3
Jessica Pegula, Iga Swiatek Cruise into Second Round
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Pegula was on the court for just an hour an five minutes on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded American did not face any threat from her unseeded Canadian opponent Rebecca Marino.
Pegula won in the same 24-hour span as the Buffalo Bills, the team owned by her father Terry Pegula.
Both Pegulas are hoping the next few weeks are fruitful when it comes to chasing titles on two different sides of the world.
Pegula likely has to go through Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina to reach the final. Pegula could play Rybakina in the quarterfinals and then Swiatek in the semifinals if form holds in the top half of the women's singles draw.
Swiatek and Rybakina each produced straight-set victories, but they were on court longer than Pegula.
Swiatek needed just under two hours to take care of former Grand Slam champion Sofia Kenin, while Rybakina defeated Karolina Pliskova in 93 minutes.
The trio of top-five seeds all take on unseeded players in the second round on Thursday.
Carlos Alcaraz Starts Tournament with Easy Win
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Carlos Alcaraz's march toward another showdown with Novak Djokovic began with a straight-set triumph over Richard Gasquet.
The second-seeded Spaniard was never in any trouble against the veteran Frenchman inside Rod Laver Arena.
Alcaraz won a first-set tiebreak and then lost just three of the next 16 games to cruise into the second round.
He will likely have many matches like Tuesday's contest over the next few rounds as he gears up for tougher competition in the second week of the tournament.
Alcaraz's first test should come in the quarterfinals against Alexander Zverev, who won in four sets on Tuesday.
Zverev and Holger Rune both reside on the level beneath Alcaraz, Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev going into the Australian Open.
Zverev should win his next three matches, and the same for Rune, but both will be significant underdogs in the quarterfinals against Alcaraz and Medvedev.
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