Nadal, Osaka set off Australian Open with good start

SYDNEY, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) — 20-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal and defending champion Naomi Osaka both claimed straight-set victories on the first day of the Australian Open on Monday.

Both the men’s and women’s singles played through the first half of the first round of 128 of the tournament. By Wednesday contenders in each bracket will be whittled down to just 64 players heading into round two.

With Novak Djokovic no longer participating in the matches after having his visa canceled, a number of top players will likely be eyeing the grand prize.

Top contenders included Rafael Nadal who in round one won in straight sets 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 over Marcos Giron on Rod Laver Arena.

Despite recently recovering from COVID-19 and a foot injury, the Spanish No. 5 was light-footed on the court and displayed strong court coverage.

In a surprising upset victory, tournament wildcard, world No. 144 Aleksandar Vukic eliminated South African world No. 33 Lloyd Harris in a grueling game 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (3).

Another upset defeat was seen when No. 12 seed Cameron Norrie lost in straight sets 6-3, 6-0, 6-4 to 21-year-old Sebastian Korda, who entered the second round of the Australian Open for the first time with the victory.

In one of the last games for day one, German compatriots, No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev and Daniel Altmaier battled it out, with Zverev coming out ahead in three hard-fought sets, 7-6 (3), 6-1, 7-6 (1).

For the women, defending champion Naomi Osaka began her Open journey strong after emerging victorious against Colombian Camila Osorio 6-3, 6-3.

A top contender for Osaka, Australian world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty played a near-perfect first match against Ukrainian player Lesia Tsurenko, winning 6-0, 6-1.

“Overall, I felt like I was able to find my forehands, control the court with my forehands…It was just nice and solid to get out here and play a decent match,” said Barty during a post-match interview.

As Tuesday heads into the second half of the first round of 128, a number of strong contenders including No.2 seed Daniil Medvedev, No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas and No. 5 seed Andrey Rublev will also make their inaugural appearances at the Melbourne Park.

Tournament organizers announced that the first day of the Australian Open brought in crowds of over 25,000 people despite capacity restrictions due to COVID-19.