Crowds packing in for day 1 @AustralianOpen. Starts on ESPN2 in 45 min. Hope you can join us. #ESPNAO pic.twitter.com/1o3KnojBLr
— Darren Cahill (@darren_cahill) January 12, 2014
And so…it begins. The first Grand Slam of 2014 is set to start in just a few minutes (26, to be exact), and I’m beyond giddy. I’ll be updating this post as the day goes along, so remember to hit “refresh” on your browser frequently. I’ll also be using Melbourne timestamps, since nobody really cares what time it will be in Houston, Texas.
Here’s the order of play for Day One, in case you haven’t looked at it. I like to check the OOP frequently during the day to see what results are already in the books, and who’s coming on on what court. It’s a handy little thing, as is the Live Scores page.
If you somehow need a thorough draw breakdown for either the men or the women, well, follow those links.
And if you want the minutes go by a little faster, you might find these interesting:
Grand Slam down Under. Link to all graphics: http://t.co/LhPxZBhOCH
— Nial Smith (@NialSmith) January 12, 2014
10:50 AM – This is quite handy:
First up on TV cts: Kerber-Gajdosova, Wawrinka-Golubev, Venus-Makarova, Watson-Hantuchova, Robson-Flipkens, Bencic-Krumm, Querrey-Giraldo.
— Beyond The Baseline (@SI_BTBaseline) January 12, 2014
ESPN has online feeds for all six courts, if you’re in the United States and have WatchESPN/ESPN3 as part of your cable package. It’s a wonderful thing.
Show crt 3. 10 mins to Robson-Flipkens. Kids rocking the mini courts. Way to go @AustralianOpen. Loving ur work. pic.twitter.com/lHPFPWunlo
— judy murray (@judmoo) January 12, 2014
11:00 AM – The first live video images I see from Down Under include these kids.
There is barely any sound. Why? I’m watching the Court 6 live stream, since a pretty unique match-up is about to take place here: the ageless wonder Kimiko Date-Krumm is set to play 16 year-old Belinda Bencic from Switzerland, who breezed through the qualies.
There’s a 27 year age difference between these women, which is mind-boggling.
11:11 AM – A bit of trivia:
1st pt of the 2014 @AustralianOpen won by @AllaK11
— Eggy (@TheBoiledEgg) January 13, 2014
11:26 AM –
Robson wins her first point – the tenth point – crowd erupts. She smiles and shakes her head. Can't say she doesn't have a sense of humour.
— Brodie (@MindTheRacket) January 13, 2014
Robson, who is struggling with a wrist injury, is down 1-3 early. So is Belinda Bencic.
Canada, you are…unique:
Genie's first non-tennis endorsement? #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/tP6KzYoN6e
— Ratazana (@Ratazana) January 13, 2014
11:36 AM – More fun trivia:
First bagel of '14 Grand Slam season to Pliskova, takes first set vs. Parmentier.
— Josh Meiseles (@jmeistennis) January 13, 2014
Belinda Bencic is back on serve with Kimiko Date-Krumm… but she gets broken again immediately, and smashes her racquet in frustration. The ageless wonder is up 4-3.
11:51 AM – Belinda Bencic has taken the 1st set over Kimiko Date Krumm, 6-4. Here are some quick observations on the top prospect from Switzerland:
– She has plenty of pace off both wings and off her 1st serve. Not a whole lot of variety yet, but that’s not a huge issue with me. She hits very good shots from a lot of places. That’s never bad. She also moves decently around the baseline, and returns serve adeptly (though Kimiko isn’t exactly a servebot).
– At age 16, she’s a very well-rounded player already. An obvious weakness is her second serve, which is a sad shadow of her first delivery. Plenty have landed smack in the middle of the service box with very little pace on them. Still, the service motion is quite sound in general, so I expect the second serve to improve.
– Also obvious from watching her is that there’s a fire to excel inside her. In one set of tennis (that she won), Belinda has managed to yell at her camp, smash her racquet and show all kinds of frustrated gestures. I actually think this is a plus – it shows that she cares, and that she has high standards for her play. Later on in her career she’ll learn that sometimes she’ll need to keep that fire under control, but for now, it’s all good.
As I write this, Bencic goes up 0-40 on Kimiko’s serve to start the second set. However, through various forms of trickery and Bencic errors, Date-Krumm survives.
12:00 PM – No matches have ended yet, but here are a few interesting scorelines so far:
– Kirsten Flipkens is up 6-3, 5-0 on Laura Robson. Poor British journos.
– Pauline Parmentier is fighting desperately to avoid a double-bagel against Katerina Pliskova.
– Young American Steve Johnson is up a set and a break on Adrian Mannarino, 6-3, 3-1
Also, this is very sad about Jamie Hampton:
Yes. RT @StephintheUS: Did MJ just say that Hampton is going to have hip surgery?
— Maria Noble (@thedoublebagel) January 13, 2014
12:08 PM – Unfortunate bit of British trivia:
First player out of the tournament is indeed Laura Robson. Loses to Flipkens 6-3, 6-0 in 50 minutes. #ausopen
— Beyond The Baseline (@SI_BTBaseline) January 13, 2014
Ugly. RT @NeilHarmanTimes Official stats suggest Robson 32 unforced errors; Flipkens 4.
— Victoria Chiesa (@vrcsports) January 13, 2014
12:21 PM – We have our first retirement of the event, it seems:
Golubev retires 4-6, 1-4 down to Wawrinka. Stan through to the next round #AusOpn
— Svenja Mastroberardi (@svenja_mastro) January 13, 2014
Andrey Golubev has retired from his Australian Open first round match, against Stanislas Wawrinka, with a lower left leg injury.
— The Tennis Doctor (@medicaltimeout) January 13, 2014
On court 6, Date-Krumm and Bencic are playing out quite the battle. Set 1 lasted 38 minutes, but the first five games of Set 2 have already taken 31. Bencic has gone down a break twice, and twice she has gotten back on level terms. She will serve down 2-3.
12:28 PM – Ladies and gentlemen, ANGELIQUE KERBER!!!
Despite starting the 2nd set falling w/ an ankle injury @Jarka_Tennis powers thru 6-0 v #Kerber #ausopen pic.twitter.com/Gac5KzjK9L
— Australian Open (@AustralianOpen) January 13, 2014
Unrelated:
Lucky loser irina falconi wins 6-3, 6-1…owes Jamie Hampton dinner
— Jon Wertheim (@jon_wertheim) January 13, 2014
12:38 PM – THE LOGO IS BACK!
BEPA HAS RETURNED TO THE BIG SLAM STAGE. #toweloverhead pic.twitter.com/UNzUa1Tiim
— René? (@Renestance) January 13, 2014
Unrelated: Kimiko Date-Krumm served for Set 2, got broken. However, she broke right back, and forces a decider against Bencic. This match is a little crazy.
12:42 PM – Sad American tennis news:
11 of 12 games for Mannarino. #Bagelalert blaring on Court 8.
— Josh Meiseles (@jmeistennis) January 13, 2014
That was a Steve Johnson update and now this about Venus Williams:
3 DFs in a row gives Makarova the break for 2-6,5-4
— Master Ace (@TWMasterAce) January 13, 2014
1:00 PM – We have some final scores!
First, the women:
Nice to see Puig advance so easily. Now the men:
In other results of ongoing matches, we have:
– The Logo is down a set to Dellacqua
– Dr. Ivo Karlovic is fighting for dear life against Dodig, down 2 sets and in a 3rd set breaker. Fails, loses in straight sets.
In 1st all-countrymen match @AustralianOpen, top Croat #IvanDodig d @ivokarlovic 76 63 76 despite 25 aces by Dr. Ivo.
— Greg Sharko (@SharkoTennis) January 13, 2014
– Belinda Bencic is trying to serve out the match against Date-Krumm at 5-2 in the 3rd, but fails. Up 5-3 now.
– Venus Williams is up 3-0 in the 3rd against Makarova.
1:10 PM – Belinda Bencic got broken at 5-2, but breaks right back to take the match, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. Impressive from the young Swiss. Now my stream moves to Hisense Arena, where another 16 year-old WTA prospect, Ana Konjuh, is facing World No. 3 Li Na.
1:36 PM – More trivia (Day 1 is full of trivia):
We have our first 5-setter! Steve Johnson takes the 4th set 7-5 and forces a 5th vs Adrian Mannarino. #AustralianOpen
— BATennisWorld (@BATennisWorld) January 13, 2014
This thing is so very, very big:
Extreme bling warning in Melbourne, where Caroline Woznaicki is signing autographs at the @AustralianOpen. #ausopen pic.twitter.com/2JStUNPw8S
— The Slice (@TheSliceTweets) January 13, 2014
1:44 PM – Sad (but unsurprising) Logo update:
#Dellacqua, who bt #Zvonareva 62 62, faces Kristen #Flipkens next #AusOpen
— AusTennisMag (@AusTennisMag) January 13, 2014
Sad, and somewhat surprising, Venus Williams update:
GSM Makarova defeats Venus Williams 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in 1st rd of #AusOpen
— Tennis Panorama News (@TennisNewsTPN) January 13, 2014
You do not mess with Makarova in Melbourne.
2:00 PM – Some more final scores. Women first:
And now the men:
Steve Johnson falls in 5 to Mannarino 36 63 60 57 64. #ausopen
— Douglas Robson (@dougrobson) January 13, 2014
My stream is back on Court 6, since Juan Mónaco is already up a set on Ernests Gulbis. In related news, Gulbis has only won one match at the Australian Open in his career.
First thing I notice: Juan Mónaco’s very nice adidas kit:
This news is both bad and good:
Hold up. Leanne White just explained a "new time violation rule for the slams" to Ana & Kiki, which is the ATP rule. WHAT? #newstome
— Victoria Chiesa (@vrcsports) January 13, 2014
Bad, because the ATP rule sucks. Good, because for once, there’s one rule for all events. So there. However…
@vrcsports 2014 rulebook says 20 seconds.
— Courtney Nguyen (@FortyDeuceTwits) January 13, 2014
So, who knows.
2:24 PM – Stan Wawrinka is already done with any post-match routines, and is making media commentary via retweets:
Unrelated:
Re: @usta decision to add practice court observation space. Good call… pic.twitter.com/mG0aJuoPUL
— Jon Wertheim (@jon_wertheim) January 13, 2014
3:00 PM – Some more results coming your way. Women first:
Now the men:
Meanwhile…
Bouchard down a break to No. 431 Hao Chen Tang. #k
— Victoria Chiesa (@vrcsports) January 13, 2014
3:29 PM – Appropriate:
Berdych, la tercera Banana en Pijama pic.twitter.com/0RGY7EGjiO
— aLe (@alebiaggini) January 13, 2014
Also:
Richie Gasquet with new clothing sponsor Le Coq Sportif. But why the backwards cap? And no, heat is not a good excuse. #ausopen
— Erik Gudris (@ATNtennis) January 13, 2014
Completely unrelated:
My goal in life is to be like @timsmyczek #onemasseuseisntenough #whitecollar pic.twitter.com/ivV9AeuAdm
— Rajeev Ram (@RajeevRam) January 13, 2014
3:49 PM –
There is much yelling and gesticulating and seething rage on Court 6 as Ernests Gulbis is trying to save set points vs. Monaco. #ausopen
— Beyond The Baseline (@SI_BTBaseline) January 13, 2014
Wow. RT @abbey_tennis: 64(?!) UFEs for Gulbis in 3 sets.
— Steph (@StephintheUS) January 13, 2014
Have to say on court mutterings of both Gulbis & Monaco have been at times more entertaining than this match so far. 3rd set TB #AusOpen
— Erik Gudris (@ATNtennis) January 13, 2014
Some more results:
Ivanovic, Berdych, and Gasquet all win in straights at right around the same time over Bertens, Nedovyesov, and Guez, respectively. #ausopen
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) January 13, 2014
And this:
4:18 PM – Tommy Haas has a clothing sponsor – it’s Japanese brand ellesse.
Meanwhile, where Cadantu and Parmentier won their battles to avoid getting double-bageled, Petra Martic failed:
Ah, the first double bagel of AO 2014: Annika Beck defeats Petra Martic, 6-0 6-0.
— 10sworld.com (@10sworld) January 13, 2014
4:27 PM – Oy, Madison Keys…
Keys had at least 3 MPs, as she was up 6-3 in the TB when I last looked at the scoreboard, but Mayr-Achleitner takes the set 76(8).
— Victoria Chiesa (@vrcsports) January 13, 2014
A little later…
Madison Keys down a break in the third. Can go negative quickly and she's surely got those missed match points on her mind. #ausopen
— Beyond The Baseline (@SI_BTBaseline) January 13, 2014
This is a funny sequence of tweets:
"The players don't need to be warned of the weather.They get an advice sheet on how best to prepare playing under these conditions" Tim Wood
— Australian Open (@AustralianOpen) January 13, 2014
And no we don't get advice sheets Dr. Tim … But I guess we can look on our weather app
— Bethanie MattekSands (@BMATTEK) January 13, 2014
“@AustralianOpen: "Tennis as a sport is a relatively low risk sport for playing in these conditions" Tim Wood” Did the Dr really say this?
— Bethanie MattekSands (@BMATTEK) January 13, 2014
In case you De Scheepers fans out there were wondering:
4:43 PM – Ernests Gulbis has won just his 2nd ever match at the Australian Open!
Also, I love this:
Q: Did you know much about your opponent? Li Na: Like zero. I tried on YouTube. #modernprep
— Alexandra Willis (@alex_willis) January 13, 2014
And some more results:
FOG MACHINE STATUS: Advancing.
5:01 PM – Jerzy Janowicz about to come on Hisense Arena, but first, my favorite tweet of Day 1 so far:
Drinking game: Take a drink every time the comm says a player should come to the net more. Warning: You will die.
— Jeff Sackmann (@tennisabstract) January 13, 2014
5:10 PM – This tweet is only partially correct:
Incredible effort from @mattebden d. Mahut 6-3 7-5 4-6 0-6 6-3 – our first 5 setter of the tournament! #ausopen pic.twitter.com/A109guLWUN
— Australian Open (@AustralianOpen) January 13, 2014
Mannarino won in 5 earlier, Australian Open.
Also, another 5 setter is in the books:
5:19 PM – Apparently, Madison Keys is fighting hard to stay alive in the tournament. Had to break back to level the score in the 3rd set to 7-all. No 3rd set breaker for women’s matches at the AO, remember.
In shocking news:
Aussie No.1 Sam Stosur kicks off her @AustralianOpen campaign with a 63 64 victory over Zakopalova. #AusOpen #tennis pic.twitter.com/iH8YU1LxOI
— WTA (@WTA) January 13, 2014
And in slightly shocking news:
Julia Goerges d. Sara Errani 6-3 6-2. Never in doubt…at least to the extent that you can use such a phrase with Goerges.
— Jeff Sackmann (@tennisabstract) January 13, 2014
5:35 PM – Many kudos to Madison Keys. Surviving this kind of epic struggle is always a great asset for a young player (some of those match points came in the second set):
7th time charm:@Madison_Keys converts match point #7 and came back from a break down in the third set to win her 1st match @AustralianOpen
— Tim Curry (@USTA_TimCurry) January 13, 2014
In completely different news…
Tommy Haas down a set and 5-2 retires with a shoulder injury against Garcia Lopez,rough start to 2014 for German.
— Nick Lester (@nicklester) January 13, 2014
And in tone-related news (tone being depressing):
Aussie wild card Jordan Thompson wins 1st set over Jerzy Janowicz, 6-1. Now Jerzy has his hat on backward. #AusOpen
— Steve Tignor (@SteveTignor) January 13, 2014
JJ(p)'s thought processes: Serve, forehand, forehand…I know! Dropshot! He won't be expecting *that*
— Chris P (@scoobschris) January 13, 2014
Kumkhum breaks Kvitova at love to start, because why not.
— Victoria Chiesa (@vrcsports) January 13, 2014
6:09 PM – Oh, Chrissie Evert…
According to Evert, Petra went back to Czechoslovakia. I knew she was talented, but didn't realize she could travel through time. Impressive
— amylu (@amylu_sports) January 13, 2014
In related news, Kvitova is struggling with Luksika Kumkhum. Down a break in the 1st set. But she’s not the only seed struggling:
Looks like Roberta Vinci could be following doubles partner Sara Errani out of the singles. Down 4-6, 2-4 to Zheng Jie… #ausopen
— Alexandra Willis (@alex_willis) January 13, 2014
Kvitova update (lost the first set 2-6):
But then… RT @ChrisSkelton87: Kvitova has 11 comebacks from losing the first set in the last 12 months. It's how she rolls.
— Alexandra Willis (@alex_willis) January 13, 2014
6:30 PM – Jordan Thompson is having quite a coming out party, and leads Jerzy Janowicz 2 sets to love. He’s frustrated Janowicz with some fantastic defense and impressive serving, while Janowicz has been a complete disaster, in almost all facets of his game.
In unrelated news, Tommy Robredo is still alive, despite being down a break early and then 1-5 in the fourth set tiebreaker:
We go 5 between Rosol and Robredo as Tommy takes the tiebreak 7-5. Rosol led that tiebreak 5-1* and lost 6 straight points. SMH.
— Chris P (@scoobschris) January 13, 2014
And Madison Keys is funny:
Madison Keys has no idea how many MPs she let slip. Feverish debate breaks. "Ok, let's just agree that it was A LOT." Happy about that win.
— Beyond The Baseline (@SI_BTBaseline) January 13, 2014
7:09 PM – The men’s defending champion is set to take the stage:
He's back! @DjokerNole prepares to take his first steps onto @Rod_Laver_Arena for 2014 #ausopen pic.twitter.com/mWtjZroCv1
— Australian Open (@AustralianOpen) January 13, 2014
Meanwhile, Janowicz and Thompson are in quite a tussle in the 3rd set, and P3tra Kvitova is, well, in a third set. Also, this:
At least Rosol got to match point this time before Robredo broke back. *4-5 fifth set. Rosol can't shake him off, he's like a bad rash
— Chris P (@scoobschris) January 13, 2014
7:43 PM – Novak Djokovic has taken the 1st set from Lukas Lacko, and Jerzy Janowicz has taken all the momentum away from young Jordan Thompson. The Pole now has a break lead in the 4th, up 4-1 now.
In Petra Kvitova news, she broke back to stay alive in the third set, so she’ll serve to maintain that status at 4-5. However, Kumkhum breaks once again, and produces the massive upset.
Lusika Kumkhum pulls off the #AusOpen upset of the day, the 87th ranked Thai ousting Petra #Kvitova 6-2 1-6 6-4
— AusTennisMag (@AusTennisMag) January 13, 2014
Here she is, quite thrilled during her post-match interview:
Here are some more results:
Apparently, Rosol served for the match in that fifth set, and had at least one match point. Tough loss to digest.
In unrelated news, Novak Djokovic’s 1st round kit (he’ll probably wear 2 more) is a disaster:
It’s not as bad as what Tomas Berdych wore earlier (and caused quite a stir on Twitter):
But let’s not kid ourselves: Uniqlo dropped the ball here. And just wait until you see the other kits Djokovic will be wearing.
Till that happens, here’s Boris Becker:
With #Borisinthebox 2013 champ @djokernole goes through his paces on centre court. Currently on serve in the 2nd. pic.twitter.com/7jPfLKIbb0
— Australian Open (@AustralianOpen) January 13, 2014
8:28 PM – Some more results:
No letdown for Pironkova as she dismisses Sylvia Soler-Espinosa 63 62 with little drama.
— Chris P (@scoobschris) January 13, 2014
This was nice to see, given how well Pironkova played during her dream run to the Sydney title last week.
Jerzy Janowicz finally woke up and completely dominated the last two sets of his match against young Australian Jordan Thompson, to clinch it 1-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1. Jerzy really did go from performing at an F level to an A- level. Looked rusty, flustered, slow, and clueless for 2 sets, but then put together the kind of tennis that makes you think he can join the elite of the sport at some point. Here are some match stats:
Meanwhile, on Rod Laver Arena, Novak Djokovic has been forced to play just the second first round tiebreaker since 2006. Lukas Lacko has been playing well, and managed to survive a few break points that Djokovic manufactured earlier.
Still, Djokovic takes it 7-2, and we’re one set away from seeing Serena Williams on Rod Laver Arena.
Meanwhile out on Court 11:
Davydenko and Kubot : 36 63 36 63. Nice of them to keep it tidy.
— Chris P (@scoobschris) January 13, 2014
And on Court 6:
9:03 PM – Novak Djokovic has clinched his first round match against Lukas Lacko, making it now 25 straight wins for him, dating to the end of the US Open. Final result: 6-3, 7-6(2), 6-1.
Here is a barrage of results for you, but it should be the last one, since there are only 3 matches on court right now (and none others are scheduled):
These are the things that happen on the first day of a Grand Slam.
On court, we have Serena Williams and Ashleigh Barty, who are warming up, Dennis Istomin and Marcos Baghdatis (Istomin is up a set and a break), and Nikolay Davydenko and Lukasz Kubot (who are in a fifth set of their very symmetrical match – Davydenko is up 5-3 in the decider).
9:40 PM – It seems Davydenko has finally advanced:
Meanwhile, on Rod Laver Arena Serena Williams is up a break on 17 year-old Ashleigh Barty, and Marcos Baghdatis is no longer down a break in the second set against Denis Istomin.
Unrelated: I’m not a fan of Serena’s dress for this Australian Open:
I usually like most of what Serena wears, but this super pink, strangely shiny thing is a rare flop.
10:23 PM – Ashleigh Barty and her injured abductor managed to take only 3 games from a pretty sharp Serena Williams today. A propos of the World No. 1, a bit of trivia I had no idea about:
#Serena through to round 2. With 59 wins at #MelbournePark she's just 1 match from equaling Court's record 60 #ausopen wins in the Open era.
— Australian Open (@AustralianOpen) January 13, 2014
Afterwards, Serena had a few nice things to say about Barty, who showed flashes of her immense talents. The WTA, as we know, is just brimming with young potential. If it all materializes, the tour could really experience a nice era in a few years.
Out on Margaret Court Arena, Denis Istomin is one game away from safe passage into the second round. He’ll try to break Marcos Baghdatis’ serve at 5-4 in the 3rd set.
10:39 PM – Denis Istomin ends up beating Marcos Baghdatis in straight sets:
Denis then apologizes to the extremely pro-Baghdatis crowd for beating their guy. The dude is nice. Played well, too (in the little bit I saw).
So that wraps up the Day One Liveblog. Thanks for following along, or for using it to catch up on the day’s happenings. Enjoy Day 2!
Li should try youku or sina, Chinese people are so good at finding/sharing online resources.
Amazing review! Thank you a lot! I think Australian Open is the most exciting slam to watch but unfortunately due to time change is always in the night or early morning and i have no chance to watch but with your review it looks like i´m not losing anything! Thank you a lot and what i like the most is tha you use other tweets (Like the Berdych one) Or the not Berdych-bad. Keep going! You´re doing and amazing work here!
Great!