The first round of the 2012 Australian Open is in the books. A quick look back at some of the notable happenings during the first two days of play in Melbourne:
Top Seeds Cruise:
Andy Murray was the only top 4 seed to drop a set in the first round, but he rebounded nicely to finish off the talented young American Ryan Harrison in 4 sets, 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-2. Murray got off to a bit of a sluggish start in hot conditions, and Harrison played an almost perfect first set, but Murray settled down and began to hit his forehand with more authority. The long rallies throughout the match seemed to wear the American down as the match got into the later stages.
Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer all cruised to first round victories, with Djokovic in especially sharp form. After being broken early in the first set and trailing 1-2, the Serb never lost another game en route to a thrashing of Italian Paolo Lorenzi. Nadal didn’t seem too hampered by his balky knee or his shoulder, and Federer was, well, Federer. Which is to say, efficiently working his way into top form at a Grand Slam.
The top 4 women were dominating on the first two days of play, dropping a combined seven games. Kvitova, who played before Djokovic on Rod Laver Arena, set the tone for the day. She was also broken early in the first set. She also came roaring back to crush Vera Dushevina without dropping another game. Maria Sharapova showed no signs of a lingering ankle injury, and no signs of her oft-shaky serve en route to a pasting of Gisela Dulko. Victoria Azarenka, the pick of many to win the title and her first Grand Slam, was equally efficient in routing the young Brit Heather Watson. And don’t forget about Caroline Wozniacki, who is playing with a lot to prove (not to mention with her No. 1 ranking on the line). She had little resistance from Anastasia Rodionova.
Coming Back From The Dead:
Four players on the men’s side came from two sets down to win, and all four of these matches involved a seeded player. Two, No. 19 seed Viktor Troicki and No. 13 seed Alexandr Dolgopolov, were victorious. Two, No. 28 seed Ivan Ljubicic and No. 22 seed Fernando Verdasco, were not so fortunate.
By far the most compelling of these matches was the Verdasco match against 19 year-old Australian upstart Bernard Tomic. After dropping the first two sets on a jam-packed Rod laver Arena and looking exhausted and, quite frankly, uninterested, Tomic engineered a comeback that will be talked about for years to come Down Under. With plenty of help from an error-prone Verdasco, Tomic started playing his signature off-speed shots and ripping forehand winners at opportune times to easily take sets three and four. The fifth set was tight, with Verdasco serving himself out of trouble on several occasions. But with the boisterous Australian crowd behind him, Tomic was able to get the late break and serve out a memorable victory, 4-6 6-7(3) 6-4 6-2 7-5. He’ll play former top 20 American Sam Querrey in the 2nd round.
Festival of Bagels:
The men and women combined to dish out 27 bagel sets in the first round of this year’s Australian Open. Day 2 alone saw 20 bagels delivered, nine from the men and eleven from the women. Djokovic and Philipp Petzschner dropped two each, as did Ekaterina Makarova. Makarova, though, lost the second set of her match against Tamarine Tanasugarn to come up with the unique 6-0 2-6 6-0 scoreline.
Battles Royale:
Aside from the four matches noted above where players came from two sets down to win, there were other dramatic five set duels. The two longest matches of the first round were Sergiy Stakhovsky vs. Illya Marchenko, an all Kazakhstan matchup, and Mikhail Youzhny vs. Andrey Golubev, also from Kazakhstan.
Stakhovsky prevailed in 4 hours and 26 minutes, 6-3 6-7(9) 4-6 6-3 7-5. The qualifier Golubev won the longest match of the 1st round in 4 hours and 53 minutes, 7-5 6-7(4) 6-4 4-6 6-3. Golubev will face No. 17 seed Richard Gasquet in the 2nd round, while Stakhovsky will meet No. 30 seed Kevin Anderson.
We still have yet to have a 5th set last more than 12 games.
Ousted Seeds:
The biggest upset so far was turned in by Romanian Sorana Cirstea, who ousted the top Australian woman and current US Open champion Samantha Stosur, seeded No. 6. Stosur has historically played tight and below expectations on her native soil, and Tuesday was more of the same. Cirstea played aggressively, using her big forehand as a weapon in a 7-6(2) 6-3 beatdown.
Other seeds to fall: Women: Flavia Pennetta (19); Lucie Safarova (24); Yanina Wickmayer (28). Men: Florian Mayer (20) (Withdrew prior to start); Fernando Verdasco (22); Ivan Ljubicic (28); Radek Stepanek (29); Jurgen Melzer (31).
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