Australian Open 2015: Day 1 Results, Highlights and Scores Recap from Melbourne
Ana Ivanovic suffered a shock first-round exit while the rest of the top seeds romped to victory on Day 1 of the 2015 Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the calendar year.
The fifth seed lost to qualifier Lucie Hradecka in three sets, continuing her disappointing record in recent Slams. Several other seeded players fell in the women's draw, opening the door for favourites Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova to cruise to the latter stages of the tournament.
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Sharapova all progressed to the second round on Monday in straight sets, an early indication the majority of the top seeds are carrying strong form into the tournament.
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Here are the full results from Day 1 of the 2015 Australian Open:
| (3) Rafael Nadal | 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 | Mikhail Youzhny |
| (7) Tomas Berdych | 6-3, 7-6, (7-1), 6-3 | Alejandro Falla |
| (20) David Goffin | 6-3 6-3 5-7 6-0 | Michael Russell |
| (6) Andy Murray | 6-3 6-4, 7-6, (7-3) | Yuki Bhambri |
| (24) Richard Gasquet | 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 | Carlos Berlocq |
| (14) Kevin Anderson | 7-6, (7-5), 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 | Diego Sebastian Schwartzman |
| Marinko Matosevic | 6-4, 6-7, (5-7), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 | Alexandre Kudryavtsev |
| Lukas Lacko | 4-6, 6-2, 7-5, 6-7, (4-7), 6-1 | Maximo Gonzalez |
| Ricardas Berankis | 2-6, 6-4, 7-6, (7-2), 6-7, (6-8), 6-4 | Igor Sijsling |
| Andreas Seppi | 5-7 6-3, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 | Denis Istomin |
| (29) Jeremy Chardy | 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 | Borna Coric |
| Joao Sousa | 6-4, 7-6, (7-5), 6-4 | Jordan Thompson |
| (32) Martin Klizan | 7-6, (8-6), 6-2, 6-4 | Tatsuma Ito |
| (10) Grigor Dimitrov | 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 | Dustin Brown |
| James Duckworth | 6-2 5-7 7-6 (9-7) 3-6 6-2 | Blaz Kavcic |
| Edouard Roger-Vasselin | 2-3 ret | Tommy Robredo |
| Tim Smyczek | 7-6 (7-2) 7-5 6-4 | Luke Saville |
| Marcos Baghdatis | 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 3-6 6-4 6-4 | Teymuraz Gabashvili |
| (26) Leonardo Mayer | 6-3 6-3 6-2 | John Millman |
| Bernard Tomic | 7-5 6-7 (1-7) 6-3 6-2 | Tobias Kamke |
| (22) Philipp Kohlschreiber | 6-2 6-2 6-1 | Paul-Henri Mathieu |
| Viktor Troicki | 6-3 3-6 6-2 6-3 | Jiri Vesely |
| (2) Roger Federer | 6-4 6-2 7-5 | Yen-Hsun Lu |
| Simone Bolelli | 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-1 | Juan Monaco |
| Ivo Karlovic | 6-4 6-2 6-4 | Ruben Bemelmans |
| (28) Lukas Rosol | 4-6 6-2 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-4 | Kenny De Schepper |
| Jurgen Melzer | 6-1 6-4 6-2 | Victor Estrella Burgos |
| Samuel Groth | 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 | Filip Krajinovic |
| Dudi Sela | 6-4 4-6 3-6 6-3 7-5 | Jan-Lennard Struff |
| Thanasi Kokkinakis | 5-7, 6-0, 1-6, 7-6 (7-2), 8-6 | (11) Ernest Gulbis |
| Malek Jaziri | 6-2, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3) | Mikhail Kukushkin |
| Oceane Dodin | 7-6, (7-5), 3-6, 6-3 | Alison Riske |
| Katerina Siniakova | 6-2, 7-5 | Elena Vesnina |
| Stefanie Voegele | 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 | Pauline Parmentier |
| Polona Hercog | 3-6, 6-3 6-2 | Qiang Wang |
| (22) Karolina Pliskova | 7-5, 6-1 | Evgeniya Rodina |
| Anna Karolina Schmiedlova | 6-4 4-6 6-2 | Chanelle Scheepers |
| Kristina Mladenovic | 4-6 6-4 6-2 | Sabine Lisicki |
| Lucie Hradecka | 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 | Ana Ivanovic |
| (21) Shuai Peng | 6-4, 7-5 | Tatjana Maria |
| Klara Koukalova | 7-5, 6-4 | Storm Sanders |
| Jarmila Gajdosova | 6-3, 6-4 | Alexandra Dulgheru |
| Julia Goerges | 6-2, 6-1 | Belinda Bencic |
| Magdalena Rybarikova | 6-4, 6-4 | Ana Konjuh |
| Lara Arruabarrena | 6-1, 6-2 | Renata Voracova |
| (3) Simona Halep | 6-3, 6-2 | Karin Knapp |
| Yanina Wickmayer | 4-6 6-3 6-3 | Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova |
| Bethanie Mattek-Sands | 6-4 3-6 6-3 | Ying-Ying Duan |
| Monica Puig | 6-0 6-3 | Arina Rodionova |
| Irina-Camelia Begu | 6-4 0-6 6-1 | Angelique Kerber |
| (31) Zarina Diyas | 3-6 6-4 6-2 | Urszula Radwanska |
| Sara Errani | 6-1 6-0 | Grace Min |
| (7) Eugenie Bouchard | 6-2 6-4 | Anna-Lena Friedsam |
| Kiki Bertens | 7-6 (10-8) 5-7 6-2 | Daria Gavrilova |
| (10) Ekaterina Makarova | 6-2 6-2 | An-Sophie Mestach |
| Christina McHale | 6-4 1-6 12-10 | Stephanie Foretz |
| Roberta Vinci | 7-5 6-1 | Bojana Jovanovski |
| Silvia Soler Espinosa | 7-5 6-4 | Annika Beck |
| Alexandra Panova | 7-5 6-0 | Sorana Cirstea |
| Yaroslava Shvedova | 6-4 2-6 8-6 | (16) Lucie Safarova |
| Carina Witthoeft | 6-3 6-1 | (17) Carla Suarez-Navarro |
| (2) Maria Sharapova | 6-4, 6-1 | Petra Martic |
| Caroline Garcia | 6-4, 6-2 | Svetlana Kuznetsova |
Nadal Impresses in Opening Round
Former world No. 1 Nadal answered questions regarding his form and health in emphatic fashion on Monday, beating Russia's Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
The Spanish clay-court specialist suffered several injuries in 2014, underwent appendix surgery in November and appeared to lack match fitness in the matches he played leading up to this year's Australian Open.
None of that seemed to matter against former top-10 player Youzhny, however, as Sports Illustrated Tennis noted the 28-year-old looked just fine:
Nadal hit 37 winners and had plenty of pace on his serve, according to the event's official website, and while his movement on court still seemed rusty at times, he never looked in trouble against the tricky Youzhny.
He also stole the show with a new pair of shorts, far shorter than what we're used to seeing from the Spaniard. According to BBC Tennis, he is going with comfort over style with this new look:
Luke Saville or Tim Smyczek awaits in the second round, and judging by his current form, neither man should trouble Nadal.
Federer Eases into 2nd Round
Federer enjoyed a quiet evening against Taiwan's Yen-Hsun Lu, winning in straight sets to advance to the second round. FedExpress spent most of his time near the baseline and played a patient game, allowing his gutsy opponent to turn the contest into an exciting affair that had the fans on the edge of their seats.
The Swiss star produced a number of stunning shots, including his patented backhand past the post. BBC 5 Live tennis' David Law correctly pointed out Lu was exactly the kind of opponent who allows the four-time Australian Open champion to display his wide variety of shots:
Federer's service game looked as polished as ever, and while he strung together too many unforced errors and didn't look great when returning, the final result was never in doubt.
The veteran came into the tournament following a great run in the final months of the 2014 season that was ultimately cut short by injury, and preparations for the 2015 Australian Open looked more than promising. Chasing his fifth crown, the Swiss former World No. 1 looks in great shape.
He'll need to cut back on the unforced errors to get past the likes of Novak Djokovic, but for now, fans of the FedExpress can be happy with what their hero showed against Lu.
Grand Slam Woes Continue for Ivanovic
After a promising first set, Ivanovic collapsed against Hradecka, a little-known qualifier from the Czech Republic who currently occupies the No. 142 spot in the world rankings.
The first-round loss was beyond disappointing, as this statistic from the WTA showed:
According to Sports Illustrated's Courtney Nguyen, the Serbian star has now failed to make the quarter-finals in 25 of her last 27 Grand Slam appearances, a dreadful run for the former world No. 1.
Ivanovic ran out to a quick 6-1 advantage in the first set but suffered an absolute meltdown in the second, and a loss of concentration carried over into the third. When it was all said and done, the 27-year-old had hit 10 double faults, 30 unforced errors and just 19 winners.
As shared by the WTA's official Twitter feed, Ivanovic is already looking forward to the rest of the season:
The Serbian star is quickly losing ground on the top players in the women's division, and if recent history is any indication, the slide seems unlikely to stop anytime soon.
Ivanovic wasn't the only seeded player to fall at the first hurdle on Sunday, as Germany's Angelique Kerber suffered a complete meltdown in the last set, losing 6-4, 0-6, 6-1 to Irina-Camelia Begu. All in all, it was a dreadful day for the seeded ladies, per the event's official Twitter feed:
The results open up some interesting possibilities for the next few rounds, with some surprising players now having the unique opportunity to make a run deep into the latter stages. Christina McHale showed just how desperate she was to advance to the next round, overcoming a bout of sickness on court to get past Stephanie Foretz in an epic final set, winning 12-10.
Murray Advances after First-Round Battle
Murray's straight-sets win over India's Yuki Bhambri didn't go as smoothly as he would have liked, but the Scot will be happy to advance to the second round without having to spend too much energy.
A quick first set had Murray in the driver's seat, winning 6-3, but Bhambri fought back and made life hard on the 2013 Wimbledon champion, winning four games in the second and forcing a tiebreak in the third.
Murray's serve was clicking, with 13 aces and no double faults, but his Indian opponent showed an uncanny prowess at the net, winning 23 points compared to six for Murray.
The Scot was still satisfied with his performance, however, as he told BBC Sport:
Murray moved well on Sunday but allowed his opponent to step into the court a little too much. If he can hit his balls deeper and prolong rallies that way, he should like his chances of making a deep run in this year's tournament.
Maria Sharapova Romps to Easy Win
One female star who didn't disappoint on Sunday was Sharapova, who needed just two sets to beat Petra Martic 6-4, 6-1. The Russian second seed overcame a sloppy start to win the first set in convincing fashion and ploughed her way through her Croat opponent in the second thanks to a series of hard winners from the baseline and a strong serve.
Slow starts are often a by-product of first-round matchups, and with Martic celebrating her 24th birthday on Monday, the Croat challenger was obviously motivated to make life hard on the Russian star. Martic controlled Sharapova's serve well initially, and with that powerful weapon removed, the 27-year-old hit 13 unforced errors in the opener.
Martic was aggressive advancing to the net but started running into a series of passing shots in the second set when Sharapova kicked into gear. She gave her opponent one more game before wrapping things up, booking her spot in the next round.
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