MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — After wasting a set point in the second tiebreaker with an ill-conceived drop shot, Jannik Sinner regained focus quickly Monday and began his Australian Open title defense with a 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5), 6-1 win over Nicolas Jarry.
After all the pre-tournament attention on the 2024 doping cases of Sinner and long-time women's No. 1 Iga Swiatek, both started the year's first Grand Slam tournament about the same time on nearby courts on Day 2.
Top-ranked Sinner had to grind for two long, tiebreak sets against No. 35-ranked Jarry, a 29-year-old from Chile, before hitting his stride in the third with two service breaks on Rod Laver Arena.
“It was a very close one because the first sets, they can go both ways,” Sinner said after extending his winning streak to 16 matches dating back to October, including 14 consecutive straight-set victories. "In the third set when I broke it the first time, that gave me a little bit of room to breathe.
“I’m happy how I handled the very tough situation.”
Sinner has got a good record at Melbourne Park in that department. He rallied from two sets down in last year's final to beat Daniil Medvedev for his first Grand Slam title, coming off a semifinal upset of 10-time champion Novak Djokovic.
While Sinner was deep into his match against Jarry, Swiatek, a five-time major winner from Poland, fended off top-ranked doubles player Katerina Siniakova 6-3, 6-4 on John Cain Arena.
Coco Gauff had a little difficulty adjusting to the sun at one end of Rod Laver Arena in Monday's first marquee match and dropped an early service game before quickly settling into a rhythm in a 6-3, 6-3 win over 2020 champion Sofia Kenin.
Third-seeded Gauff beat Swiatek to win the title at the WTA Finals last November and started this season by helping the U.S. to victory at the United Cup last week, against beating No. 2 Swiatek in the final.
Gauff, the 2023 U.S. Open champion is wearing a Marvel-inspired bodysuit and skirt at Melbourne Park and she's radiating confidence and calm.
“I knew going in it was going to be difficult, but you know I’m happy with how I played,” she said of the 1-hour, 20-minute win over Kenin, who at No. 81 is a much tougher opponent than her ranking suggests.
“I mean (I) could serve better, but like on that side I was struggling to see the ball,” Guaff said, pointing to one baseline on the main show court that was bathed in sun. “So I’m just happy that I was able to manage through that.”
Another 20-year-old American, Alex Michelsen, produced the biggest win of his young career with a 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 first-round upset of 2023 Australian runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Michelsen's three booming service returns in the ninth game of the fourth set helped him earn a vital break against the 11th-seeded Tsitsipas and, after shaking off jitters on his own serve, he closed out for his first victory over a player ranked in the top 20 at a Grand Slam. No. 17 Frances Tiafoe advanced in five sets over Arthur Rinderknech of France.
Gauff went into her opening round on a streak of winning 33 matches against players ranked outside the Top 50, dating to a loss to Kenin at Wimbledon 2023.
It was tough going early, with Gauff converting an early break before Kenin got back on serve at 2-2, hitting deep ground strokes and getting good bounce off the hard court.
But Gauff, who had five aces and four double-faults in her first two service games, lifted her tempo, started taking the ball earlier and won four of the next five games. She finished the match with 12 aces and nine double-faults, and saved seven of the eight breakpoints she faced. She also had 28 winners, including two rifling backhands on key points in the second set, and 13 unforced errors.
The draw presented another tough trip to Australia for Kenin. It was the third straight year Kenin faced a Grand Slam champion in the first round in Australia, and her fourth consecutive first-round exit here.
Guaff will next play Jodie Burrage of Britain. Also advancing from early matches were No. 12 Diana Shnaider, No. 23 Magdalena Frech, No. 25 Liudmila Samsonova and No. 28 Elina Svitolina. Lucia Bronzetti of Italy ousted No. 21 Victoria Azarenka, a two-time Australian Open champion.
After a stop-start Day 1 on Sunday, including more than six hours of rain, Monday’s packed program was also set to feature matches for Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.
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The Associated Press
