Nadal and Pliskova sail into 2nd round
MELBOURNE — World No. 1 Rafael Nadal had a winning return to Rod Laver Arena with a 62, 6-3, 6-0 win over Hugo Dellien, while second seed Karolina Pliskova also stayed perfect against Kristina Mladenovic on her way to the second round of the Australian Open.
The first round on Tuesday claimed the first former Melbourne champion, Maria Sharapova, and the highest seed so far — No. 12, Johanna Konta.
Nadal, last year’s runner-up, showed some consistency issues against unheralded Dellien as he kicked off his 2020 campaign, but still comfortably took home a straight-sets win in just over two hours.
Earlier on, world No. 2 Pliskova also took care of business, taking home a 6-1, 7-5 victory over France’s Mladenovic at a sunny, but chilly, Rod Laver Arena.
In the evening session, fourth seeds Daniil Medvedev and Simona Halep were both challenged on their way to the second round, beating Americans Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 and Jennifer Brady 7-6 (7-5), 6-1, respectively.
Meanwhile at Melbourne Arena, 23rd seed Nick Kyrgios moved past Italian Lorenzo Sonego 6-2, 76 (7-3), 7-6 (7-1) in front of a raucous — and rowdy — home crowd.
Following Pliskova at Rod Laver Arena, Sharapova lost a third consecutive slam opener with a 6-3, 6-4 defeat to 19th seed Donna Vekic, becoming the first former Australian Open champion to exit the 2020 tournament so far.
The former top-ranked player from Russia who has been plagued by shoulder problems will now drop out of the top 350 in the rankings and wouldn’t say
whether she would be back next year.
At the 1573 Arena, Britain’s Konta went out with a 6-4, 6-2 loss to Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur. Konta was playing only her second match in five months owing to knee problems.
Fifth seed Dominic Thiem, who had two first-round exits at the Slams since making it to the 2019 French Open final, made it through the first hurdle this time around, beating France’s Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 7-5, 6-2.
The women’s fifth seed, Elina Svitolina, also punched her ticket to the second round in straight sets, defeating Britain’s Katie Boulter 6-4, 7-5.
In the last match at Rod Laver Arena, 2016 champion Angelique Kerber of Germany had smooth sailing against Italian qualifier Elisabetta Cocciaretto, taking just over an hour to defeat her 6-2, 6-2.
Meanwhile at Margaret Court Arena, Kerber’s compatriot and Alexander Zverev fought from a break down in each set to win his first match of the year, 6-4, 7-6 (74), 6-3, over Italy’s Marco Cecchinato.
After the match, the seventh seed pledged $10,000 for every match he wins in his Melbourne campaign for individuals and communities affected by bush fires that have been ravaging Australia.
The German added he would donate all his winnings to the cause if he won the event. The winner receives $4.12 million Australian dollars ($2.83 million U.S. dollars).