3 minute read
Snapshot from day one of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park.
PLAYER OF THE DAY: James Duckworth, after a luckless run with injury and wretched first-round draws against Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Lleyton Hewitt, the 29-year-old Australian returned the Open's winners' list for the first time since 2016 with a 6-3 6-2 6-4 victory over Bosnian Damir Dzumhur.
STAT OF THE DAY: Seven-times champion Serena Williams enhanced her incredible first-round record at Melbourne Park with a 6-1 6-1 statement win over Laura Siegemund.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Of course I'll take it. I think it's worth doing the 14-day quarantine when you come here. It's still a really high prize money to get. I'm 22 years old. I don't come from a background that's rich. I come from a small country, I never got a lot of sponsors or anything," Slovenia's world No.91 Tamara Zidansek could see the bright side of two weeks in hotel lockdown after suffering a first-round exit.
TOURNAMENT SUMMARY: Duckworth, wildcard Alex Bolt and Fed Cup star Ajla Tomljanovic all opened the host country's account with first-day wins, while men's title contenders Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev, Stan Wawrinka joined women's heavyweights Naomi Osaka, Williams and Bianca Andreescu in the second round.
