Rafael Nadal launched his Australian Open title defence with a four-set victory over Britain’s Jack Draper on Monday as dwelling hope Nick Kyrgios stop by means of harm with out hitting a ball.
In the ladies’s draw, prime seed Iga Swiatek survived a troublesome examination whereas Jessica Pegula and teenage prodigy Coco Gauff had been each emphatic winners on the primary day of motion.
Spanish nice Nadal, 36, had been in poor kind by his sky-high requirements, shedding six of his final seven matches stretching again to defeat within the final 16 on the US Open.
In fast-rising Draper, 21, the 22-time Grand Slam champion confronted a stern check to begin his marketing campaign at a sweltering Melbourne Park.
The prime seed recovered from a second-set wobble — and a weird incident when a ball boy by accident took his racquet — to defeat the Thirty eighth-ranked Briton 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 at Rod Laver Arena.
Nadal, who not too long ago turned a father, faces American Mackenzie McDonald in spherical two.
“Very thrilling, new starting, simply super-happy to be again at Rod Laver with a victory I wanted,” he mentioned after grinding down Draper.
“Last couple of months haven’t been straightforward for me.”
Nadal was on court docket when Australia’s gifted however temperamental Kyrgios known as a swiftly organized press convention and introduced that he was out of the match with a knee harm.
“I’m devastated, clearly,” mentioned the Wimbledon finalist, who was thought of an out of doors wager to win a maiden Grand Slam crown.
“I’ve had some nice tournaments right here, profitable the doubles final yr and enjoying the tennis of my life most likely going into this occasion.
“I’m simply exhausted from all the pieces, and (it is) clearly fairly brutal.”
The first Grand Slam of the yr had already misplaced a number of stars within the build-up.
Injured males’s world primary Carlos Alcaraz and two-time Melbourne champion Naomi Osaka — who’s anticipating her first youngster — are among the many different gamers lacking.
Nine-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, who was detained and deported forward of final yr’s match after refusing to get vaccinated for Covid, begins his title assault on Tuesday.
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Other winners on Monday included third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who noticed off dogged Vasek Pospisil in an all-Canadian conflict.
Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, shedding finalist in 2021 and 2022, fired up his bid to go one higher with a straight-sets demolition of Marcos Giron.
But twenty first seed Borna Coric fell to Czech participant Jiri Lehecka in straight units.
– ‘Focused on myself’ –
In the ladies’s draw, scorching favorite Swiatek was removed from her fluent greatest towards Jule Niemeier however acquired the job performed, 6-4, 7-5.
“Honestly, I wished to be centered on myself as a result of I do know that Jule serves superb and was actually pushing, placing stress on me,” mentioned Swiatek, who landed solely 49 % of her first serves.
“So I’m fairly glad that I acquired by means of this match as a result of the primary spherical is all the time difficult and I assume an opponent like Jule makes it much more difficult.”
The Pole, who’s chasing an Australian Open crown to go together with main titles on the US Open and Roland Garros, performs Camila Osorio of Colombia subsequent.
In-form Pegula blitzed 161st-ranked Romanian Jaqueline Cristian 6-0, 6-1 in a 59-minute romp to sign her intent.
Fellow American Gauff was equally explosive in racing into the second spherical with a 6-1, 6-4 thumping of Czech Katerina Siniakova.
The 18-year-old Gauff now faces a mouth-watering encounter towards former US Open champion Emma Raducanu.
It would be the first-ever assembly between Gauff and the 20-year-old Raducanu, two rising stars of girls’s tennis.
“I’m actually trying ahead to this match,” Raducanu mentioned.
“I’m very up for it. Coco has clearly performed loads of nice issues and he or she’s enjoying effectively.
“I believe we’re each good, younger gamers, we’re each coming by means of — a part of the subsequent era of tennis actually — it should be a fantastic match.”
Also safely by means of was one other American, Danielle Collins, final yr’s crushed finalist in Melbourne.
Greek sixth seed Maria Sakkari additionally received and Victoria Azarenka defeated Sofia Kenin in a battle of two former Australian Open champions.
But two seeds fell on the first hurdle, Twenty fifth-seeded Czech Marie Bouzkova and American twenty eighth seed Amanda Anisimova.
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