Jannik Sinner continued his strong play from 2023 by defeating Botic van de Zandschulp in the opening round of the Australian Open, which began a day earlier than usual on Sunday. The Italian fourth seed, who ended last season on a high note with wins over Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, and Daniil Medvedev, played well in his first-round match on Rod Laver Arena. He secured a 6-4 7-5 6-3 victory after 2 1/2 hours on court, despite some imperfections.
“It’s my first match of the season and it means a lot to get a win,” said Sinner, who was cheered on by the “Carota Boys”, a band of fans dressed as carrots.
“It’s a tournament where I would like to play as good as possible … hopefully I can show more as I go along. The first match is never easy, I think I can be happy.”
Sinner is part of a group of young players hoping to challenge 24-times Grand Slam champion Djokovic, who will begin his bid for an 11th title against Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic in the evening session on Rod Laver Arena. Reigning women’s champion Aryna Sabalenka will also play her first-round match against German qualifier Ella Seidel on the main showcourt.
An extra day was added to the tournament to help clear the first round matches, leaving the early schedule a bit light on star power. The only former women’s Grand Slam winner playing in the day session was Czech Barbora Krejcikova, who faced Japanese wildcard Mai Hontama on Margaret Court Arena. Hontama took the first set, but Krejcikova managed to progress 2-6 6-4 6-3 after receiving sideline coaching and a medical timeout for a foot injury.
Leylah Fernandez, who made it to the final of the 2021 U.S. Open, made a strong start by breaking her opponent to love in the first game on John Cain Arena. She went on to win 7-6(5) 6-2. Matteo Arnaldi also secured a victory for the Italian 22-year-olds with a 7-6(5) 6-2 6-4 win over Australian wildcard Adam Walton, but Lucia Bronzetti lost to Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko.
As always, big crowds filled the Melbourne Park precinct for the year’s first Grand Slam. “The atmosphere is just unbelievable,” local fan Wendy Ferguson told Reuters. “How friendly everybody is. It doesn’t matter where they come from, everyone is here for a good time.”
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, additional reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar and James Redmayne, editing by Peter Rutherford)
