Alcaraz’s win makes it 30 men’s seeds in Aussie Open 2nd round
“It's better for the players ... better for everyone,. For the crowd to have more days to have matches, for the tournament as well.”
CARLOS ALCARAZ, ON THE NEW THREE-DAY FIRST ROUND FORMAT
— The extra-day experiment for the first round finished on time on the Australian Open's two main courts, with Jessica Pegula converting her second match point just before midnight to conclude the program on Tuesday.
In a bid to reduce the number of late finishes, organizers extended the Australian Open to 15 days — one more than usual. It started on a Sunday for the first time, and spread the first round over three days.
It didn't prevent Days 1 or 2 going well past midnight.
But Elena Rybakina and Carlos Alcaraz advanced in straight sets in night matches on Rod Laver Arena on Day 3, and Pegula finished off the Margaret Court Arena program to make show-court deadline by 10 minutes.
Wimbledon champion Alcaraz's 7-6 (5), 6-1, 6-2 win over 37-year-old Richard Gasquet and Olympic champion Alexander Zverev 's 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3), 6-3 victory over Dominik Koepfer meant a record 30 seeds advanced to the men's second round.
Sumit Nagal prevented it from being 31. He became the first Indian male to beat a seeded player at a Grand Slam event since 1989 with a 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (5) triumph over No. 31
Alexander Bublik.
"The tour has great players, a lot of them that can beat anyone," Alcaraz said. "So I think it's really, really open. But, 30 from 32, I think they deserve it."
His opinion on the three-day firstround format?
"It's better for the players ... better for everyone," the 20-year-old Alcaraz said. "For the crowd to have more days to have matches, for the tournament as well."
The fifth-seeded Pegula started her day watching TV coverage of the Buffalo Bills beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-17 in an AFC wild-card playoff.
She finished it by beating Canadian qualifier Rebecca Marino 6-2, 6-4, and acknowledged some Buffalo fans in the crowd holding up "Billieve" signs.
"I see some Bills fans over there. It was on at 8:30 this morning," she said in a post-match TV interview. "I'm happy I could finish the day with a win. It was a good day for Buffalo!"
The only match still in progress after hers finished just after midnight, with local hope Ajla Tomljanovic recovering a break in the third set to beat Petra Martic 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4 in almost three hours.
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek survived an early test in her bid for a fifth major title when she held off 2020 champion Sofia Kenin 7-6 (2), 6-2 in the opener on Rod Laver Arena.
Kenin served for the first set at 5-4 but could not close it out. Swiatek rallied to take it in a tiebreaker and then broke serve five games later.
"It wasn't easy to find my rhythm. I felt a little bit off and Sofia did everything to keep it that way, huge respect to her," Swiatek said. "I managed to get my level up in the second set."
Swiatek faces another ex-Australian Open finalist next.
Danielle Collins, runner-up here two years ago, beat 2016 champion Angelique Kerber 6-2, 3-6, 6-1.