Australian Open 2017: Monday Results, Highlights, Scores Recap from Melbourne
Andy Murray and Angelique Kerber were among the winners on the opening day of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park.
Murray, in his first Grand Slam as world No. 1, began his campaign with a straight-sets victory over Illya Marchenko on Rod Laver Arena, while defending women's champion Kerber had to go the distance to defeat Lesia Tsurenko.
In other highlights, No. 5 seed Stan Wawrinka was made to work hard before seeing off Slovakia's Martin Klizan in a five-set thriller that lasted just under three-and-a-half hours.
Wawrinka's compatriot Roger Federer showed early signs of rustiness after six months out of the game with injury but still had far too much class to see off qualifier Jurgen Melzer in four sets.
In his post-match column for BBC Sport, Murray described the match as "OK" but "hard going."
Murray added: "It was tough conditions. The on-court temperature was in the high 30s, which wasn't easy. I didn't feel any extra pressure playing my first Grand Slam as the world number one. I felt nervous beforehand, but I get that before all Slams."
| (1) Andy Murray bt. Illya Marchenko | 7-5, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 |
| (4) Stan Wawrinka bt. Martin Klizan | 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 |
| (14) Nick Kyrgios bt. Gastao Elias | 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 |
| (5) Kei Nishikori bt. Andrey Kuznetsov | 5-7, 6-1, 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-2 |
| (17) Roger Federer bt. Jurgen Melzer | 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 |
| (1) Angelique Kerber bt. Lesia Tsurenko | 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 |
| Shelby Rogers bt. (4) Simona Halep | 6-3, 6-1 |
| (13) Venus Williams bt. Kateryna Koslova | 7-6 (7-5), 7-5 |
| (7) Garbine Muguruza bt. Marina Erakovic | 7-5, 6-4 |
| Coco Vandeweghe bt. (15) Roberta Vinci | 6-1, 7-6 (7-3) |
Federer was pleased to make a winning return to action, per Michael Beattie of ausopen.com.
The four-time champion said: "It was a long road, but I've made it. I'm in the draw and it's a beautiful thing. Any match is a good match, even if I'd lost today, because I'm back on the court."
Twitter account Tennis Abstract highlighted that it was the first Grand Slam Round 1 set dropped by Federer since 2010:
"Streak over. First Slam R1 set lost since 2010 Wimbledon against the great Alejandro Falla. https://t.co/BzGNuPiUXN
— (((Jeff Sackmann))) (@tennisabstract) January 16, 2017"
Wawrinka was pushed to the limit by Klizan in titanic tussle. Per Alix Ramsay of the tournament's official website, he said: "I'm happy to get through. I did not find my best game but I was fighting a lot."
Wawrinka showed no mercy against his opponent at times:
In the women's draw, Kerber, the world No. 1, triumphed 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 over Ukraine's Tsurenko.
Kerber took part in a post-match interview on court:
No. 4 seed Simona Halep became the biggest casualty of the first day, losing in two sets to Shelby Rogers of the United States.
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