Australian Open 2012: Results from Women's Day 1 to a Lady Gaga Soundtrack

Jan 16, 2012. This day featured about half of the draw and included matches with Wozniaki, Clijsters, Azarenka, Jankovic, Li and assorted others, including up-and-comers Christina McHale and Heather Watson.

Six ladies in the WTA are poised to take over as world No. 1 at the end of this tournament—a record number of top contenders. What did we learn from the women's first round about who might take the top spot?

Poker Face (Azarenka Def. Watson)

Victoria Azarenka is ranked No. 3 and is a wannabe world No. 1. Is she to Serena like Lady Gaga is to Madonna? 

What did we learn? Vica played like a world No. 1 compared to other ladies today.  She struck the ball well and rolled her opponent (British hopeful Heather Watson) 1 and 0. 

Paparazzi (Radwanska Def. Mattek-Sands)

Bethanie Mattek-Sands (ranked No. 67) cleverly relied upon drop shot after drop shot to bring her opponent  (ranked No. 8) to the net and open the court.  This was a strategy that worked very well for her and said volumes about Radwanska's game.

In other ways, Mattek-Sands missed some very easy shots (indicative of her form at the moment) and relied upon moon balls the way a junior would. The fact that Agnieszka couldn’t make much progress against her until Mattek-Sands' mid-match injury doesn’t say a whole lot about the state of her game.

What did we learn? If the women’s first round is any indication, Agnieska Radwanska’s game sucks right now. 

The Edge of Glory (Clijsters Def. Koehler)

Kim Clijsters, defending champion and ranked just outside the top 10, is very rusty, and got off to a slow start.  Koehler played a very aggressive and compelling first set, but as the match went along, Clijsters' ball-striking gained depth.

What did we learn? In spite of Clijsters' experience and ability, I still think Victoria Azarenka's overall form looked the best of the first day's matches.

Just Dance (Jankovic, Schiavone, McHale & Li Results)

Jelena Jankovic, Francesca Schiavone, Christina McHale snd Li Na had comfortable wins.

What did we learn? These ladies all looked to be in quite good form as the tournament go under way. 

Born This Way (Wozniaki Def. Rodionova)

Caroline Wozniaki (ranked No 1) reminds me of "Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta" —that is, Lady Gaga's remarkable-yet-unremarkable real name before she reinvented herself into a bodacious stage presence.

Wozniaki tries hard to be commanding, but at bottom, she’s really very nice.  When you bring an inflatable kangaroo to a press conference, we can tell you’re "No Drama, Caro."

Caro played exhibitions all the way through the break, and as a consequence, many commentators expected a lack of preparation and the impact of lingering injury to show. 

What did we learn? She looked to be in good form on center court, with a comfortable and focused win to open the tournament.