The first round of the Australian Open brought unexpected outcomes, as various seeded competitors were ousted in the men’s and women’s categories. The women performed better, with just five seeded players out (none among the top 15), whereas the men had eight seeded players eliminated, including three from the top 12.
Notable players eliminated include World No. 9 Andrey Rublev, 2022 AO runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas, and two-time winner Victoria Azarenka. Anticipated shifts in the men’s top 10 rankings are likely, whereas the women’s singles draw paves the way for new challengers.
Two-time champion Victoria Azarenka (21st seed) faced a disappointing first-round elimination after three straight years of reaching at least the second week of the tournament, including the semifinals in 2023. The Belarusian was unable to defeat Lucia Bronzetti (No. 76), who secured the victory in straight sets (6-2, 7-6) in a part of the draw that became available after Anna Kalinskaya’s exit.
The highest-seeded player ousted in the opening round is former French Open titleholder Jelena Ostapenko (seeded 16th), but she drew a tough match against former World No. 4 Belinda Bencic, who is back on tour following a year-long maternity leave. The Swiss rapidly regained her form, and her ranking of No. 421 certainly doesn’t indicate her present state.
Another challenging matchup was faced by Ekaterina Alexandrova (26th seed), who lost in the first round to 2021 US Open winner Emma Raducanu (No. 61). In a match marked by inconsistency from both players, the Brit displayed greater bravery at crucial times and defeated a resilient foe in two tiebreak sets.
Ultimately, 29th seed Linda Noskova was knocked out early by Clara Tauson (No. 42), who rallied from a set down to demonstrate her strong performance. The 20-year-old Czech amazed everyone last year by making it to the quarterfinals and beating the World No. 1 at that time, Iga Swiatek. Nonetheless, she encountered a motivated Tauson, who claimed victory at the ASB Classic just a week prior and is currently on a six-match winning streak.
One of the most unfortunate outcomes was that of Maria Sakkari (31st seed), who continues her challenging journey in majors, losing to Camila Osorio (No. 59). The Colombian achieved her second victory in four AO appearances, worsening Sakkari’s challenging situation.
Men’s individual competition
The men’s draw started with numerous surprises, as eight out of the 32 seeded players were knocked out early in the competition. A hard-fought contest for the top-10 was anticipated near the conclusion, but three of the nearest rivals were eliminated. Grigor Dimitrov (10th) sustained an injury during his match with Francesco Passaro (No. 89) and withdrew shortly after the second set began, while Stefanos Tsitsipas (11th) was knocked out by Alex Michelsen (No. 42) in four sets.
The highest-seeded player to be knocked out so far is the 9th seed, Andrey Rublev. The first top-10 player to be eliminated, Rublev lost to rising talent Joao Fonseca (No. 112), who put on an impressive display to oust the Russian in straight sets. Although Rublev showed great determination and had a strong match, he was outperformed by the 18-year-old Brazilian talent.
Hometown hero Alexei Popyrin (25th), the defending champion of the previous Canadian Open, suffered a loss against the audacious Corentin Moutet (No. 66), leaving Melbourne Arena quiet, as Popyrin was regarded as a leading contender for a significant progression in the men’s tournament. Another French athlete who created a surprise was veteran Gael Monfils (No. 37), who continues to demonstrate that despite his age, he remains highly competitive and triumphed over fellow countryman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (31st seed), one of the competitors anticipated to make an impact in Melbourne this year.
South American players Alejandro Tabilo (23rd) and Sebastian Baez (28th) faced difficult beginnings as they exited in the initial round. Italian Flavio Cobolli’s defeat to Tomas Martin Etcheverry will result in a loss of points as he could not maintain his performance from last year.
