Australian Open 2017: Biggest Takeaways from Early Results in Melbourne

Andy Murray and Angelique Kerber progressed to the second round of the 2017 Australian Open, but there was a contrast in how they performed. While the Scot cruised along as the No. 1 seed, the German continued to sputter as she looks to defend her top ranking.

Nobody wins the tournament early on, but the opening matches can foreshadow the fates of the stars or exact an energy-depleting cost. Is this good or bad news for the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and others?

The following results are the biggest early takeaways for the superstars. Who looks ready to roar ahead and who will have to get back on track?

So Long, Simona: Two Straight Years of First-Round Defeats.

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Will it ever happen for Simona Halep? Tennis fans know what this means.

Three years after establishing herself as a Grand Slam contender, the 25-year-old crashed again, this time losing a 6-3, 6-1 shocker to American Shelby Rogers in the first round. There was hardly time for the tournament to warm up before Halep was heading out.

Looking slower than her usual self, Halep called for medical assistance after the first set. She later said that knee pain was the problem, per AFP (h/t The Nation): "I'm a bit frustrated, but you cannot change much. I'm OK. Just looking ahead. It happens, and I just want to be well with the knee. And then I will think about the game."

The biggest issue with Halep continues to expand. Will she have the ability to close out a major title? She fell in three sets in the 2014 French Open final to Maria Sharapova, but the Romanian has slipped in big matches since then, even with the decline of Serena Williams' dominance.

There are the questions about her more diminutive stature, a lack of offensive power and her baffling inconsistencies despite being a hard worker and playing with obvious vigor and toughness.

All she can do is move on to the spring and roll the dice at the French Open.

Will Early Five-Set Wins Prove Ominous for Wawrinka and Cilic?

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Stan Wawrinka and Marin Cilic are two heavy hitters who put themselves behind the eight ball after they pulled out five-set wins in the first round.

Although Wawrinka looked much better in getting a straight-sets victory in his next match, the die may have been cast.

The last time an eventual finalist needed five sets to get out of the first round was 1998 when Carlos Moya (Rafael Nadal's new coach) turned the trick.

But we can also excuse the unseeded Moya who upset No. 6-seed Boris Becker. The Spaniard was getting one of his hard matches out of the way, whereas Wawrinka and Cilic floundered through some of their head-scratching difficulties.

The irony for Cilic was that he came back from a two-sets deficit. This was a role reversal from three huge matches in the second half of 2016 when it was the Croatian blowing the two-sets advantages. Maybe this will spark him with more mental confidence in big matches ahead.

As for Wawrinka, the Swiss won this title three years ago and is known to cough up bad matches in the first week.

If anyone can get to a major final the hard way, it's Wawrinka.

Serena and Karolina Power Up

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Perhaps the two most powerful top players in tennis are serving notice that they will be in the business of statement wins.

Serena Williams easily passed a dangerous first-round test by drilling Belinda Bencic 6-4, 6-3, and Karolina Pliskova was even better with her 6-2, 6-0 rout of Sara Sorribes Tormo.

Williams had eight aces and dominated with a 30-13 margin of winners over Bencic, while Pliskova nailed five aces and cruised with her 26-6 margin of winners.

They are either going to beat up their opponents or beat themselves because there are no power stars in their bottom half of the bracket. Well, that is unless they play each other in the last four (a rematch of the U.S. Open semifinals, which Pliskova won). Then something's got to give.

Alexander the Great Needs Five to Survive

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Rising phenom Alexander Zverev was expected to have an easier time turning back veteran Robin Haase, but instead he battled through nearly three hours of sun-baked tennis to win an up-and-down affair.

The pessimist will point out that the 19-year-old German is green and that he needs to handle his emotions better than smashing a racket in frustration, but he was his own worst enemy sometimes at net where he lost 22 of 52 points.

The optimist will counter that Zverev took a huge step forward, gaining valuable experience under duress and showing that he has the heart and conditioning to beat a seasoned veteran in Haase.

"I felt pretty OK," Zverev said, per Alix Ramsay for the official website of the Australian Open. "He got a little bit tired, I thought. His energy went down. I don't know if that's because he's tired or if because he lost the fourth set where he may have thought he should have won. But I picked it up and I played great the fifth set."

It all sets up an intriguing look at the future, with Zverev facing an even greener American prospect in Frances Tiafoe, who has thrilling athleticism, impressive power and shotmaking ability.

Someone's going to be thrilled to get to the third round, and it's Zverev who will continue to carry the mantle of expectations, especially if he meets up with another blockbuster match against the legendary Rafael Nadal.

Angelique Kerber Needs to Find Her 2016 Form

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Before the Australian Open, Angelique Kerber's shaky play was at least a noteworthy concern. Since then, there have been two matches and two wins but a thickened plot with more erratic play at what should have been the most comfortable moments.

Both wins followed a similar pattern. Kerber goes up a set and a break and then gets sloppy with un-Kerberlike errors. She loses the second set and then must get her mojo back to pull away for victory.

The strange thing was seeing the pressure and impatience creep in. Playing against lesser opponents, the German looked to cut a few corners by going for more pace and aggressiveness after having the matches under control. She has not looked like the No. 1 player who won the Australian and U.S. Opens last year.

Perhaps the 29-year-old will lock in with more grinding patience when the competition stiffens; either that or she will be out by the weekend. Good thing for her that the third-round opponent is Kristyna Pliskova and not her twin sister, Karolina, who is one of the favorites to win the title.

The bottom line is that Kerber has two wins in her pocket and five more to round up. She's going to have to play a lot better if she is to defend her title successfully.

The Big Four Are Rolling

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Which of the Big Four will blink first? Roger Federer is the only one to drop a set, but he's already bagged two sets and on his way to a big match against top-10 stalwart Tomas Berdych.

Meanwhile, Nadal scored an easy victory, Djokovic shone in a revenge match against hard-hitting veteran Fernando Verdasco and Murray gets set for his match against Andrey Rublev. The Big Four have combined to win 15 of 16 sets against their opponents.

What does it all mean? Not much in terms of winning the tournament, but it is important to maintain their usual efficient results in Week 1. Federer and Nadal in particular have to feel more like their younger selves with the timing and competition they've needed after long absences late in 2016.

Djokovic needed to reassert his dominance to leave plenty in the tank for next week, so it was all good after driving through Verdasco.

Move the chains and start up the clock. The Big Four are marching downfield.