Andrey Rublev, the fifth seed, on Tuesday put a swift finish to former Grand Slam champion Dominic Thiem’s Australian Open marketing campaign, displaying a masterful show of energy as he overpowered the Austrian 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 on the sweltering John Cain Arena.
Grand Slam champion Dominic Thiem, a finalist at Melbourne Park and the 2020 U.S. Open victor, is making a valiant return to the court docket after coping with a difficult wrist harm.
Despite the setback, he bravely confronted off in opposition to the towering Russian, pushing his limits in a valiant effort.
In a match studded with top quality rallies between the 2 baseliners, Rublev broke for a 5-3 lead within the opening set, for 5-4 within the second and, after an enormous roar, for 2-1 within the third.
Thiem was merely unable to get a foothold within the contest and the 25-year-old Rublev, a quarter-finalist on the Australian Open in 2021, served out for the match after little greater than two hours on court docket.
“We are really good friends and I know he is going through not-so-easy times … and I hope he can get back to the level he belongs as fast as possible,” Rublev stated of the previous world No. 3.
“It’s tremendous scorching right this moment so I’m tremendous completely satisfied I used to be capable of win in straight units and avoid wasting vitality for the following match.
“The hotter it is, the tougher it is to make the right decisions, the tougher to move. When you start to think the other guy is also feeling the same, it’s a bit easier.”
Rublev, like all Russian and Belarusian gamers, is competing on the match with out nationwide affiliation on account of final yr’s invasion of Ukraine.
Tennis Australia on Tuesday morning banned followers from bringing flags of both nation into the Melbourne Park precinct after a Russian tricolour was held on a bush subsequent to a court docket the place Ukrainian Kateryna Baindl was enjoying on Monday.
Extreme warmth
The warmth was the opposite major subject of dialog on the second day of the championships as temperatures soared towards a forecast excessive of 36 levels Celsius (96.8 levels Fahrenheit).
Play was suspended on the skin courts shortly after 2 p.m. (3 a.m. GMT) native time because the match’s Extreme Heat Policy got here into play.
Top girls’s seeds Aryna Sabalenka and Caroline Garcia spent as little time as attainable on Rod Laver Arena of their opening matches on the yr’s first Grand Slam.
Fifth seed Sabalenka, who opened the yr by profitable the Adelaide International 1 title with out dropping a set, stored up her wonderful kind with an emphatic 6-1 6-4 victory over Tereza Martincova.
“It wasn’t that easy a match and I’m super happy to start with a win,” stated the Belarusian.
“I need to work on my mindset, not getting upset with every mistake I am making, I truly believe that this is the only thing that is missing in my game.”
Fourth seed Garcia, who received the WTA Finals final season, was equally convincing with a 6-3 6-0 win over Canadian qualifier Katherine Sebov in simply over an hour.
Garcia will subsequent face one other Canadian in 2021 U.S. Open finalist Leylah Fernandez, who got here from an early break all the way down to beat Alize Cornet 7-5 6-2.
Italian Martina Trevisan was the primary seed to fall on Tuesday. The twenty first seed went down 6-3 6-2 to Slovakian qualifier Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.
Novak Djokovic will start his bid for a record-extending tenth title at Melbourne Park in opposition to Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena within the remaining match of the day on Rod Laver Arena.
