If you thought the first opening Sunday in Australian Open history was an opportunity to ease into the tournament, think again.
The tennis season’s maiden Grand Slam began on Sunday instead of Monday for the first time, and opening-day festivities certainly did not disappoint. There were six five-setters on the men’s side, one of which saw No. 5 seed Andrey Rublev come back from a double mini-break down in the decisive tiebreaker to beat Thiago Seyboth Wild 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(6). Six other matches went four sets, including Novak Djokovic’s surprisingly competitive 2024 debut against qualifier Dino Prizmic. In the women’s draw, three seeded players crashed out. That list included No. 13 Liudmila Samsonova, who fell to a Amanda Anisimova–a 22-year-old American who is on the comeback trail.
Djokovic’s test was the most notable result on Day 1. The world No. 1 and 10-time champion at Melbourne Park needed four hours and one minute to hold off Prizmic 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4.
“He deserves every applause and credit he got tonight,” Djokovic said of the 18-year-old Croat, who is ranked 178th. “He’s an amazing player; so mature for his age. He handled himself on the court incredibly well. This is his moment and it could have easily been his match, as well. He was a break up in the third, he fought even though he was 4-0 down and a break point down [in the fourth]. He showed great mentality, resilience, and he made me really run for my money tonight.
“(It was) an amazing performance for someone who is 18 years old who doesn’t have the experience of playing on a big stage. We’re going to see a lot of him in the future.”
Rublev endured an even more tumultuous roller-coaster. The 2023 quarterfinalist led Seyboth Wild two sets to love and had double-break point to go up 2-1 in the third. But that’s when it fell apart–almost–for Rublev. Seyboth Wild took the next two sets and forced a fifth-set tiebreaker by digging out of a 0-40 hole at 5-6 and saving four match points in total. The 78th-ranked Brazilian, who upset Daniil Medvedev at the French Open last spring, even led 5-2 in the ‘breaker–but Rublev won eight of the last nine points to survive.
“I was thinking in the fifth set when I had so many opportunities and I couldn’t make it, ‘for sure we are going to see the same story like Daniil at Roland Garros,'” Rublev reflected.
Twelfth-seeded Taylor Fritz also went the distance, overcoming Facundo Diaz Acosta 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. The American broke at love in the final game to get across the finish line.
Other winners on the men’s side were Jannik Sinner, Frances Tiafoe, Francisco Cerundolo, and Sebastian Baez. Cerundolo required five sets to get past Australian qualifier Dane Sweeny.
impressive by Prizmic