Australian Open 2021: Serena Williams, Djokovic Wins Highlight Day 1 Results

It's been more than a year since the world's best tennis players played in front of a huge crowd at a Grand Slam.

None of them looked worse for wear.

The first day of the 2021 Australian Open largely went off without a hitch for seeded competitors, with upsets few and far between on both the men's and women's side Monday.

No. 10 Gael Monfils was the top player in the field to fall on the opening day, dropping a five-set marathon to Emil Ruusuvuori, a 21-year-old in his first Australian Open tournament. No. 23 Angelique Kerber was the top name to face early elimination on the women's side, with American Bernarda Pera making light work of the 2016 Australian Open winner in a straight-sets romp.

Otherwise, the world's best showed themselves to be in fine form for the thousands in attendance. 

Notable Results

Men

(1) Novak Djokovic def. Jeremy Chardy; 6-3, 6-1, 6-2

(3) Dominic Thiem def. Mikhail Kukushkin; 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-3

(6) Alexander Zverev def. Marcos Giron; 6-7 (8), 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-2

(8) Diego Schwartzman def. Elias Ymer; 7-6 (3), 6-4, 2-6, 6-2

Emil Ruusuvuori def. (10) Gael Monfils; 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3

(14) Milos Raonic def. Federico Coria; 6-3, 6-3, 6-2

(15) Pablo Carreno Busta def. Kei Nishikori; 7-5, 7-6 (4), 6-2

(17) Stan Wawrinka def. Pedro Sousa; 6-3, 6-2, 6-4

(18) Grigor Dimitrov def. Marin Cilic; 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (5) 

(20) Felix Auger Aliassime def. Cedrik-Marcel Stebe; 6-2, 6-4, 6-2

Women

(2) Simona Halep def. Lizette Cabrera; 6-2, 6-1 

(3) Naomi Osaka def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova; 6-1, 6-2

(7) Aryna Sabalenka def. Viktoria Kuzmova; 6-0, 6-4

(8) Bianca Andreescu def. Mihaela Buzarnescu; 6-2, 4-6, 6-3

(9) Petra Kvitova def. Greet Minnen; 6-3, 6-4

(10) Serena Williams def. Laura Siegemund; 6-1, 6-1

(17) Elena Rybakina def. Vera Zvonareva; 4-6, 6-4, 6-4

(19) Marketa Vondrousova def. Rebecca Peterson; 2-6, 7-5, 7-5

Novak Djokovic needed just over an hour-and-a-half to defeat Jeremy Chardy as he looks for his third straight Australian Open championship. The men's top seed noted the crowd's energy helped fuel him in his opening-round triumph. 

"It makes my heart full to see a crowd in the stadium again," Djokovic said in an on-court interview. "There's an ongoing love affair with this court, between me and Rod Laver Arena. I wanted to start off well tonight, first match, night session, definitely one of the most special courts we have on the tennis tour around the world. I've been very lucky to have a lot of success on this court, a lot of memories."

The 2021 Australian Open is perhaps the closest thing the sports world has seen to a normal sporting event since last March. Australia has essentially eradicated COVID-19 from its population thanks to a combination of strict protocols and diligent contact tracing, allowing the country to reopen and host major gatherings.

Those who are playing and attending the Australian Open were subject to strict protocols to ensure the safety of those involved and to halt any potential spread that would happen as a result of the event.

Australia is allowing a maximum of 30,000 fans to attend the year's first Slam. 

"Listen, this is amazing," Serena Williams told reporters after her straight-sets win over Lara Siegemund. "Last year was very scary for the world. To be able to do what I love and be able to come out and compete ... it makes me appreciate the moment even more."

Williams and Naomi Osaka breezed to victories in their respective first-round matches. Williams did not even need an hour to take care of Siegemund, while Osaka earned an easy 6-1, 6-2 win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.