Taylor Fritz easily reached the second round of the Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia — Taylor Fritz showed how dramatically life has changed for both he and Jenson Bruskby since their last Grand Slam meeting when Fritz took less than two hours to win their first-round match. Australian Open.

Fritz was seeded fourth US Open runner-up last year and helped the US team win the United Cup in Sydney last week.

He needed just 1-3/4 hours for a 6-2, 6-0, 6-3 victory over fellow American Brooksby on Tuesday at John Cain Arena, who was playing his first event at any level in two years.

Brooksby has a protected ranking of No. 52 after surgery on both wrists in 2023, helping him earn a spot in the main draw at the year’s first major.

He nearly dropped to one knee to save a match point with a lunging, angled backhand winner. But otherwise, it was over really fast.

Brooksby24, won her only previous match against Fritz at the 2021 US Open, where she reached the fourth round as a wild-card entry.

Now, as he ponders his next move on his way back up the rankings, Fritz will aim to keep going through the round at Melbourne Park, where he reached the quarter-finals last year. It was a run that put him on the path to success in 2024.

“I guess there’s a little bit of nerves in the first Slam match,” Fritz said, “so I did a really good job.”

No. 8 Emma Navarro took 3 hours 20 minutes and came from 5-3 down in the third set to defeat American Peyton Stearns 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 7-5 in the women’s first round. .

A Last year US Open semi-finalistNavarro was seeded into the top eight at a major for the first time and was completing a set of Grand Slam center court appearances with his first appearance at Rod Laver Arena.

So, how did he feel after being pushed all the way by the big-hitting stalwarts?

“Great,” he said, telling the audience the duration of the match felt like a time warp. “Crazy match today.”

“I keep telling myself to make the most of what I have today. Maybe it wasn’t my best, but he put up a really good fight. Really happy to win.”

For Emma Radukanu, winning the first round at the Australian Open was always going to be more important than her results.

That was evident on Tuesday as the 2021 US Open champion celebrated her 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2) victory over No. 26 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova on Court 3, with a scattering of British flags flying in a light breeze on Day 3 at Melbourne Park. .

In his first match since November, the 22-year-old British player had 15 double-faults, 30 unforced errors and won just 30% of his second serve points. But he was good enough in the big moments with 22 winners and nine aces to advance to the second round.

Since he hasn’t been playing competitively, the biggest news since his return home was a minor back problem he had earlier this month and last week he refused treatment for an ant bite – just to be safe on drugs that could run him afoul of anti-doping regulations.

Alexandrova held serve for the first set, including eight service breaks, but Raducanu broke right back.

In the second set, Radukanu went 4–2 up but then lost control of his serve again and had to save a set point before forcing another tiebreaker, which he dominated.

Radukanu led 6-0 in the breaker and held his nerve to take his first win in 2025, with the lead too much to worry about.

Since becoming the first player to win a Grand Slam title after going through qualifying, Radukanu has not advanced past the fourth round of a major. He has reached the third round for the last three years in Australia.

She next plays Amanda Anisimova, who won 6-2, 6-3 against Maria Karl.

Ninth-seeded Daria Kasatkina was first on day three, dropping the first game to win 6-1, 6-3 over Viktoria Tomova in the next seven.

In men’s preliminary results, No. 19 Karen Khachanov defeated Adrian Mannarino 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-3 and 2022 semifinalist Matteo Berettini defeated Cameron Norrie 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-1, 6-3.