Australian Open 2020: Tuesday Results, Highlights, Scores Recap from Melbourne

Rafael Nadal secured his safe passage to the second round of the Australian Open on Tuesday with a straight-sets win over Hugo Dellien.

Women's No. 2 seed Karolina Pliskova also made it through at the expense of Kristina Mladenovic.

Dominic Thiem and Belinda Bencic progressed in straights sets against Adrian Mannarino and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, respectively, but Johanna Konta suffered an upset at the hands of Ons Jabeur.

The likes of Simona Halep, Elina Svitolina, Nick Kyrgios and Daniil Medvedev also picked up wins in Melbourne on Tuesday.

Selected Men's Singles Matches

(1) Rafael Nadal bt. Hugo Dellien, 6-2, 6-3, 6-0

(5) Dominic Thiem bt. Adrian Mannarino, 6-3, 7-5, 6-2

(15) Stan Wawrinka bt. Damir Dzumhur, 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4

(4) Daniil Medvedev bt. Frances Tiafoe, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2

(10) Gael Monfils bt. Yen-Hsun Lu, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2

(23) Nick Kyrgios bt. Lorenzo Sonego, 6-2, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (1)

(7) Alexander Zverev bt. Marco Cecchinato, 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-3 

Selected Women's Singles Matches

(2) Karolina Pliskova bt. Kristina Mladenovic, 6-1, 7-5

(19) Donna Vekic bt. Maria Sharapova, 6-3, 6-4

(6) Belinda Bencic bt. Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, 6-3, 7-5

Ons Jabeur bt. (12) Johanna Konta, 6-4, 6-2

(5) Elina Svitolina bt. Katie Boulter, 6-4, 7-5

(4) Simona Halep bt. Jennifer Brady, 7-6 (5), 6-1

(17) Angelique Kerber bt. Elisabetta Cocciaretto, 6-2, 6-2

Tuesday Recap

Nadal dropped just five games in his opening-round tie against Dellien. 

Two of those were on his serve as Dellien offered more resistance than the scoreline would suggest, until the No. 1 seed powered to a bagel in the final set.

He broke the Bolivian eight times and hit 38 winners along the way, including this sumptuous effort:

The Spaniard will take on Federico Delbonis in the next round after he beat Joao Sousa in straight sets.

Pliskova eased through her opening set in 25 minutes against Mladenovic, who managed to win just one game.

The Frenchwoman gave a better account of herself in the second:

Tennis broadcaster Ravi Ubha gave his take on the No. 2 seed, who is unbeaten in five matches in 2020:

Meanwhile, Maria Sharapova suffered her third consecutive first-round exit in Grand Slams as she lost in straight sets to No. 19 seed Donna Vekic.

Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times observed what the defeat will do to her ranking:

Per BBC Sport, when asked if she would appear in Melbourne next year, the 2008 Australian Open winner said: "I don't know. I don't know."

It was a day to forget for Konta, too, as she went out in the opening round at Melbourne for the first time in just 63 minutes to Jabeur.

The No. 12 seed, who reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open in 2016, had played just once since last year's U.S. Open because of a knee injury.

Medvedev successfully navigated a tricky contest against Frances Tiafoe, whose quarter-final in Melbourne last year was his best performance at a Grand Slam.

The 23-year-old, who reached the final of the U.S. Open in 2019, shared a combined 14 breaks of serve with the American over four sets, hitting 42 winners and as many unforced errors along the way.

2018 Melbourne finalist Simona Halep also faced a stern test in her opening set against Jennifer Brady and had to save three set points before coming out on top in a tiebreaker.

The No. 4 seed injured her wrist in a fall in the first set, but she did not appear too concerned by it after the match:

Kyrgios eased through his first set with two breaks over Lorenzo Sonego, but he did not manage to breach the Italian's serve for the remainder of the contest and needed two tiebreakers to get over the line in the second and third sets.

However, he did not give up a single break point opportunity throughout their two-hour and 13-minute match. He'll face Gilles Simon in Round 2.