Janic Ciner started his Australian Open title defense with a straight sets victory

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — After squandering a set point on an unexpected drop shot in the second tiebreaker, Janic Ciner quickly regained focus Monday and began his Australian Open title defense with a 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5). , a 6-1 win over Nicolas Jarry.

After all the pre-tournaments the focus is on 2024 Sinner and longtime women’s No. 1 doping case Iga SwiatekBoth started their first Grand Slam tournament of the year at the same time on Day 2 on nearby courts.

The top-ranked Sinner had to grind out two long, tiebreak sets against the 29-year-old Chilean, No. 35 Jarry, before taking two service breaks at Rod Laver Arena to take the third.

“It was very close because the first set, they could have gone either way,” said Sinner, whose winning streak has spanned 16 matches since October, including 14 straight-set victories. “When I broke it for the first time in the third set, it gave me some room to breathe.

“I’m happy with how I handled a very difficult situation.”

Cinner has a good record at Melbourne Park in that category. He came from two sets down in last year’s final to defeat Daniil Medvedev to win his first Grand Slam title, defeating 10-time champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.

While Sinar was deep into her match against Zary, Poland’s five-time major winner Swietek defeated top doubles player Katerina Siniakova 6-3, 6-4 at John Cain Arena.

Coco Gough In Monday’s first marquee match, Rod Laver had a little trouble adjusting to the sun at one end of the arena and dropped an early service game before settling into a quick rhythm in a 6-3, 6-3 win over 2020 champion Sofia. Buy it.

Gauff beat third seed Switek to win the title WTA Finals The season began last November and last week in the United Cup, helping the United States defeat No. 2 Swatek in the United Cup final.

Gough, the 2023 US Open champion, wore a Marvel-inspired bodysuit and skirt at Melbourne Park and radiated confidence and poise.

“I knew going into it it was going to be tough, but you know I’m happy with the way I played,” he said of his 1 hour, 20 minute victory over Kenin, a much tougher opponent ranked No. 81. rather than proposing his ranking.

“I mean (I) could have served better, but like on that side I was struggling to see the ball,” Guaf said, pointing to a baseline on the sun-bathed main show court. “So I’m glad I managed it.”

Another 20-year-old American, Alex Michelsen, produced the biggest win of his young career by upsetting Australian 2023 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 in the first round.

Michelsen’s three surging service returns in the ninth game of the fourth set helped her earn a crucial break against 11th seed Tsitsipas and, after shaking her serve, she cruised to her first win against a top seed. 20 in a Grand Slam. Number 17 Frances Tiafoe advanced in five sets against France’s Arthur Rinderknecht.

Goff enters his first round on a 33-match winning streak against players ranked outside the top 50, which he lost to Kenin at Wimbledon in 2023.

The going was tough early, with Goff converting an early break before Kenin got back on serve at 2-2, hitting deep ground strokes and getting good bounces on hard courts.

But Goff, who had five aces and four double-faults in his first two service games, picked up the pace, started taking balls 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 break points she faced. He had 28 winners, including two rifling backhands and 13 unforced errors on key points in the second set.

The draw presents another tough trip to Australia for Kennin. Kennin faced a Grand Slam champion for the third year in a row in the first round in Australia and his fourth straight first-round exit here.

Guaf will next play Britain’s Jodie Burrage. Also leading from early matches were No. 12 Diana Schneider, No. 23 Magdalena Frech, No. 25 Lyudmila Samsonova and No. 28 Elina Svitolina. Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti ousted 21st seed Victoria Azarenka, the two-time Australian Open champion.

After a stop-start Day 1 on Sunday with more than six hours of rain, Monday’s packed program was also set to feature matches. Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.