Australian Open 2012: 7 Most Shocking Headlines from Week 1

The year's first grand slam is half complete—or half incomplete if you are a pessimistic tennis fan.

The Australian Open has been very fun to watch so far, with the usual suspects being the favorites this year.

There haven't been as many shocking headlines/suprising stories on the men's side as there have on the women's side, but both have been entertaining.

I suppose now would be the time to state my honorable mentions for this article, and they are: Alejandro Falla's impressive run into the third round, as well as Czech Iveta Benesova beating Chinese No. 15 seed Peng Schuai

And now, without further ado, here are seven shocking headlines from Week 1.

Philipp Kohlschreiber's Great Run

Not too much light was thrown on the first round match between Philipp Kohlschreiber and Juan Monaco, in part because it was expected to be an easy win for the Argentine Monaco.

However, the German turned some heads in winning 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-0, as he closed the match out with an emphatic fifth set "bagel."

Up next, was Pere Riba, who had to retire once Kohlschreiber went up 6-0, 4-0.

In the following round, Alejandro Falla was the man on the other side of the net, and it was supposed to be an interesting match. Though it was good, no one expected Kohlschreiber to win in straight sets, as he did: 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (3).

Though he was dispatched in straight sets by Juan Martin del Potro in the next round 6-4, 6-2, 6-1, people saw this tournament that the German is capable of great tennis.

Can we expect to see more of this later in the year from him?

Jie Zheng Beats Marion Bartoli

Coming off two straight-set wins over Virginie Razzano and Jelena Dokic, Marion Bartoli was the heavy favorite in her third round match against Jie Zheng.

Despite the fact that the Chinese world No. 38 had upset against No. 23 seed Roberta Vinci, she barely stood a chance, according to most people.

However, Zheng managed to pull of a 6-3, 6-3 upset against Bartoli, and turned quite a few heads.

Now, in the quarterfinals, she faces Italian Sara Errani (more on her next).

Like with Kohlschreiber, it's a case of someone in the latter stages of their career and ranked in the high 30's and low 40's.

Despite the fact that she lost to Sara Errani in the round of 16, this tournament has showed what she is capable of. Hopefully for her, she can find this high level of tennis later in the year.

Sweeting Takes Ferrer to Five

As David Ferrer beat Rui Machado of Portugal 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 and Ryan Sweeting defeated German Matthias Bachinger 6-4, 6-4, 6-2, the following match was set to be a foregone conclusion.

What kind of problem was world No. 68 Ryan Sweeting supposed to pose against a man 63 ranks ahead of him?

As both men are extremely fit players who rely on consistently, it was expected to be a long match, but certainly not a close one.

As the American jumped out to a one to zero set lead, as well as a two to one set lead, the Spaniard was worried, but the world No. 5 eventually managed to grind out the win, 6-7 (4), 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.

People were suprised that it took Ferrer five sets to beat Sweeting. Anyhow, he is now in the round of 16.

After beating Frenchman Richard Gasquet, the Spaniard is now in the quarterfinals.

Sara Errani and Kei Nishikori Still Alive After Opening Week

Two of the most shocking people who have survived Week 1 are Sara Errani and Kei Nishikori.

Sara Errani

Sara Errani is currently ranked No. 48 in the world, and making the fourth round of this tournament is the Italian's best ever result in a Grand Slam.

To get here, Errani beat Russians Valeria Savinykh and Nadia Petrova, as well as Romanian Sorana Cirstea.

After crushing Jie Zheng, she has reached her first ever Grand Slam quarterfinal. Petra Kvitova will be an extremely tough match, but can she again score the upset?

Kei Nishikori

Fine, Nishikori has had a fairly easy draw so far.

The Japanese world No. 26 has faced Frenchman Stephane Robert, Australian Matthew Ebden, and Julien Benneteau of France, none of them being exceptionally good players.

And against Tsonga, Nishikori played unbelivably well, and pulled off the major 2-6, 6-2, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 upset.

Can he now beat Andy Murray, too?

Ekaterina Makarova Triumphs over Vera Zvonareva

After having a shaky first-round match against Alexandra Dulgheru and not the best second rounder against Lucie Hradecka, No. 7 seed Vera Zvonareva was not looking too good coming into the match against Ekaterina Makarova.

On the other hand, the latter looked fantastic in her second round upset of Kaia Kanepi from Estonia.

So I guess it wasn't a huge upset if you look at the form from earlier in the tournament, but the thought of the No. 56 in the world defeating the world No. 7, it's different.

After those matches, Makarova also pulled an emphatic upset against Serena Williams, who only managed to win five games.

Up next, Makarova faces a tough test in compatriot Maria Sharapova, who has had a fantastic Australian Open, and it will probably be a very good match.

Mardy Fish Exits Early

 I want to say sorry to any Americans who may be reading this article, but I just had to put this.

It was in the second round that Mardy Fish ran into Alejandro Falla, and what a shocker it was!

You would at least expect this match to be a four or five-setter, but it was in only three sets that the Colombian pulled off his 7-6 (4), 6-3, 7-6 (6) upset against the man who is called the USA's best hope right now.

Falla's two-match win-streak was ended in the third round, however, by Philipp Kohlschreiber, who lost later to Juan Martin del Potro.

Fish's second-round exit raises questions like, how much more does he have in him or does he now have to think about retirement, because those types of things are always brought up in cases of old players losing early.

Despite this setback, I think Fish will have a decent 2012, and fall three or four ranking slots over the course of the year.

Samantha Stosur Loses First Round

And now, in my opinion, the biggest upset so far this tournament.

Sam Stosur lost to Romanian Sorana Cirstea 7-6 (2), 6-3 in the first round, even though expectations were so high following her victory of the 2011 U.S. Open.

It was a huge disappointment for Stosur, and being in front of her home fans did not help.

Cirstea went on to beat Urszula Radwanska in the following round, but eventually lost in the third round to Sara Errani.

This is what Stosur had to say after the match:

"

I'm probably very close to crying, having a really awful night...I want to do better here. But I can't think that because this month didn't go the way I wanted it to...It's January. We have till the start of November to find form. I'm sure within that period of time I definitely will play better and play the way I know I can.

"