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So what else is occurring now that night has fallen in Melbourne? Apart from Osaka v Ruzic and Tsitsipas v Mochizuki, it\u2019s all about the Australians, with the qualifier Maddison Inglis and Kimberly Birrell facing each other, Daria Kasatkina playing the Czech Nikola Bartunkova and the wildcard James Duckworth, after a mere four hours, on course for a five-set victory over the lucky loser Dino Prizmic, leading the Croatian 4-1 in the decider.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a>Machac defeats Dimitrov<\/p>\n Machac has seen off Dimitrov in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3, and awaits the winner of Tsitsipas v Mochizuki. That\u2019s going with serve, 3-3 in the opening set.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.38 EST<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t realise it\u2019s Ruzic\u2019s birthday today, and she finally has something to celebrate on court too when she takes that attritional fourth game, which in the end lasted 13 minutes. Perhaps she was blindsided by Osaka\u2019s outfit early on, but she\u2019s got her eye in now, and moves to break point on Osaka\u2019s serve. Osaka hits long and Ruzic breaks to get back on serve, trailing 3-2.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n A couple of results: Hubert Hurkacz, the former quarter-finalist, has come from a set down to defeat Zizou Bergs 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-3, while the Czech Vit Kopriva has outlasted the German veteran Jan-Lennard Struff in five sets, 4-6, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3, 6-1. Kopriva will play Fritz next.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Fair play to Osaka, who is absolutely putting on a show befitting of that walk-on outfit (most of which has now been removed). The 16th seed has zoomed into a 3-0 lead, and has break point on Ruzic\u2019s serve. Osaka nets her attempted return from Ruzic\u2019s kick serve, and it\u2019s deuce. Some superb counterattacking from Osaka gets her another break point, which also comes and goes. A third break point also vanishes. This game has been going longer than the first three combined \u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Also getting under way, on Margaret Court Arena: Stefanos Tsitsipas, who\u2019s seeded down at 31 after his injury hell last year, against Japan\u2019s Shintaro Mochizuki. Tsitsipas, the 2023 runner-up, leads 2-1 on serve.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n What I will say, though, is that she\u2019s surely got to back that outfit up with a performance. The beekeeper two-time former champ is up against Antonia Ruzic, the 23-year-old from Croatia who\u2019s making only her second grand slam main draw appearance.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.39 EST<\/p>\n Naomi Osaka has made her entrance on Rod Laver. I have no words \u2026<\/p>\n How to make an entrance. Photograph: Quinn Rooney\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.07 EST<\/p>\n Fritz defeats Royer in four sets<\/p>\n Machac has moved two sets up on Dimitrov, leading 6-4, 6-4. And Fritz has just got the job done against Royer, advancing 7-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-3, after dominating the final two sets. A decent start for the ninth seed after his injury problems of late. \u201cI felt very confident in the last two sets,\u201d the American says, before revealing that he played credit card roulette with the rest of the American players at the Melbourne Nobu in Melbourne. Not sure who lost \u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Boulter\u2019s defeat, combined with Sonay Kartal\u2019s 7-6, 6-1 loss to the 31st seed Anna Kalinskaya earlier, means Emma Raducanu is the only British woman left in the singles. She plays the Austrian Anastasia Potapova in the second round tomorrow, in the third match scheduled on the ANZ Arena, so perhaps at about 4am UK time. Cameron Norrie and the qualifier Arthur Fery also play, along with Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka, Alex de Minaur, Coco Gauff, Mirra Andreeva, Frances Tiafoe, Daniil Medvedev, Alex Zverev and Jasmine Paolini.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.53 EST<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Bencic beats Boulter 6-0, 7-5<\/p>\n No sooner does Sinner walk off Rod Laver than Bencic breaks on Margaret Court, and this is very likely a decisive break, because it leaves the 10th seed serving for the match at 6-0, 6-5 against Boulter. Bencic gets to 30-15, then two match points when Boulter biffs her return into the net. Bencic, with her slightly shortened service action, goes long with her first serve, lands the second \u2026 and Boulter peels off the pass! But Bencic puts away a smash to complete victory. Credit to Boulter for making a match of it after the one-sided first set, but Bencic played the big points better in the second and, with an 11-0 match record this year, she\u2019s got to be in the title conversation. \u201cI\u2019m loving playing in Australia,\u201d she says in her on-court interview.<\/p>\n Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic celebrates beating Britain’s Katie Boulter. Photograph: William West\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.46 EST<\/p>\n But for Sinner, the two-time defending champ is back in his happy place, and he\u2019s speaking to Jim Courier. He says of course it\u2019s not the way he wanted to win, but he\u2019s very pleased with how he\u2019s started his campaign, of course there was a bit of tension, but he\u2019s very happy to be back.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Sinner takes second set to lead 6-2, 6-1 before Gaston retires<\/p>\n Sinner, to the surprise of absolutely no one, is a game away from the second set, leading 6-2, 5-0. The next game is on Gaston\u2019s racket though, and the Frenchman does what he can, holding to 30 before, to the surprise of absolutely everyone, getting to 0-30 on the Sinner serve. But Sinner soon has 40-30, and takes the set when his wickedly angled backhand draws the error from Gaston. Then Gaston, unexpectedly, retires! Sinner embraces his opponent and a distraught Gaston has his head in his hands in the chair. Ach, what cruel luck, and it adds to all the retirements yesterday<\/a>. Gaston got a bit of treatment from the trainer at the end of the first set, it wasn\u2019t clear what for, but he didn\u2019t look to be struggling with his movement during the match \u2013 perhaps he wasn\u2019t feeling well.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Props to Boulter, who\u2019s put the disappointment of that break out of her mind and has a break point of her own at 30-40. A long rally plays out \u2026 and Boulter eventually goes long with backhand. But the Brit gets another chance at her advantage \u2026 and Bencic balloons long and wide! That was tight from Bencic. It\u2019s 4-4 in the second, after Bencic took the first 6-0.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Machac has taken the opening set 6-4 against Dimitrov, while Fritz has a set point in the third against Royer. Fritz flashes a serve down the T and that settles it. Fritz leads 7-6, 5-7, 6-1 and Royer has called for the trainer.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Boulter, after all of her hard work to get back into this match, enters the danger zone at 15-40 on her serve, Bencic working her way to two break points by showing tremendous foot speed for an incredible pick up. Bencic duly breaks and now has a 6-0, 4-3 advantage. Boulter will be kicking herself.<\/p>\n Katie Boulter of Britain plays a forehand return to Belinda Bencic of Switzerland. Photograph: Aaron Favila\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.14 EST<\/p>\n Boulter is hitting with more depth, purpose and confidence, which is causing Bencic a few problems. It\u2019s as easy as you like for Sinner now, though, who speedily secures a break in the second set to lead 6-2, 2-0, but Gaston pulls off a nice volley-smash combo for 15-30 on Sinner\u2019s serve. Sinner secures three points on the spin for 6-2, 3-0.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Gaston looks comfortable at 40-15 on serve, trailing 5-2, but Sinner steps it up just as he did in the first game of the match, and suddenly four points have whizzed by and Sinner has the set 6-2, finishing things off with a forehand winner on the run. And the first signs of frustration from Bencic, as Boulter holds for 2-1 in the second set.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Maybe he shouldn\u2019t be retiring if he can still show this sort of athleticism at the age of 39:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Au revoir Gael. Lovely scenes on the Kia Arena:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Sinner has got the breakthrough on Rod Laver, leading Gaston 4-2 in the opener, while Fritz has been pulled back by Royer, who\u2019s snatched the second set 7-5. Boulter is finally on the board, winning the opening game of the second set after her 6-0 shellacking in the first, while Dimitrov, playing only his fourth match since suffering that ill-timed injury when leading Sinner by two sets to love at Wimbledon last summer, is a break down, 4-3, against Machac, the man with the shortest shorts in tennis.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Boulter, meanwhile, had a disastrous 2025, falling from a career-high ranking of No 23 to No 113. She\u2019s got renewed hope this year after hiring Maria Sharapova\u2019s former coach Michael Joyce, who has also worked with Johanna Konta, Jessica Pegula and Victoria Azarenka. But that\u2019s being extinguished rather brutally by Bencic, who grabs another couple of breaks and is now serving for the first set at 5-0, 30-15. Boulter nets a backhand and here are two set points. Bencic blinks on the first but smacks away a forehand winner on the second. It\u2019s a first-set whitewash.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Fritz\u2019s 2025 was a slight disappointment, he didn\u2019t quite push on from his US Open final appearance in 2024, and as a result he\u2019s no longer the highest-ranked American \u2013 that\u2019s Ben Shelton. Fritz has also been dealing with a knee injury during the early stages of this season, but he leads Royer, the Frenchman who\u2019s making his Australian Open<\/a> debut, 7-6, 5-5.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n I\u2019m loving the new multiview action on Discovery+. It\u2019s making this job much easier. Gone are the days of needing an extra laptop, mobile and iPad just to keep track of everything. So I\u2019m currently keeping an eye on Sinner v Gaston, Boulter v Bencic, Fritz v Royer and Dimitrov v Machac.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.28 EST<\/p>\n Sinner shows Boulter that even the best can err early, as he slides 0-40 down on serve in the opening game. But then he suddenly remembers who he is, and the defending champ rattles down three aces and reels off five unanswered points to hold. It\u2019s 1-0.<\/p>\n Italy’s Jannik Sinner serves to France’s Hugo Gaston. Photograph: Martin Keep\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.27 EST<\/p>\n An inauspicious start from Boulter as she\u2019s broken to 30. The Brit snuck into the main draw after a couple of late retirements but that\u2019s where her luck ended, because she\u2019s been handed a tough assignment against the Swiss, one of the most in-form players, who\u2019s back in world\u2019s top 10 after dropping as low as No 1,213 after the birth of her daughter in 2024. Bencic won all five of her singles matches at United Cup, including a very impressive victory against Iga Swiatek. Bencic backs up the break for 2-0.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.35 EST<\/p>\n Jannik Sinner has made his way through the new upgraded tunnel on Rod Laver, which looks like a slightly discombobulating hall of mirrors, and he\u2019s warming up against the French left-hander Hugo Gaston. Also getting going on Margaret Court: Katie Boulter<\/a> against Belinda Bencic, and Boulter is already facing break points in the opening game.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Venus Williams\u2019s Australian Open<\/a> has come to an end. After her narrow defeat in the singles on Sunday, when she became the oldest woman to play in the event at the age of 45, she\u2019s now been knocked out of the doubles. Venus, playing alongside Russia\u2019s Ekaterina Alexandrova, lost 7-6, 6-4 to France\u2019s Elsa Jacquemot and Colombia\u2019s Emiliana Arango. The way she was talking after her singles loss, though, this isn\u2019t the last Melbourne has seen of her \u2026 but one player who\u2019s just said goodbye for the last time is Gael Monfils, who\u2019s been ousted in a near four-hour marathon, 6-7, 7-5, 6-4, 7-5, by the Australian qualifier Dane Sweeny, who\u2019s lying on his back on the Kia Arena, as he soaks in his first ever grand slam main draw win. Monfils has already announced, like Stan Wawrinka, that this will be his final year on the tour.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n What a song this is btw. It gets me a bit teary every time.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n And here\u2019s Jack Snape on that big disappointment for Joint. At 19, though, there\u2019ll be many more chances for the US-born Australian, who was the first home player seeded in the women\u2019s singles since Ash Barty four years ago:<\/p>\n Maya Joint has vowed to return to the Australian Open stronger, after the top-ranked local in the women\u2019s singles draw crashed out in the first round on Tuesday with a straight sets defeat to Czech teenager Tereza Valentova<\/a>.<\/p>\n Valentova made the most of an inconsistent display from the 30th seed, winning 6-4, 6-4 in 92 minutes.<\/p>\n Joint, at 19 and only one year older than her opponent, struggled with unforced errors and with her serve, leaving a near-full John Cain Arena shocked and disappointed in the first match of the day.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll learn a lot from this match, [and] come back stronger next year,\u201d Joint said. \u201cI had a few more double faults than usual, and I think I had quite a few unforced errors today. Yeah, just a tough, tough match.\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the full report:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t altogether comfortable for Keys though, as Tumaini Carayol reports:<\/p>\n Fans seated in the upper bowls of the vast Rod Laver Arena are long accustomed to watching tennis from a considerable distance away, but on Tuesday afternoon they enjoyed the rare sight of the tennis ball frequently rising as high as their seats.<\/p>\n That is the magic of Oleksandra Oliynykova, who made life hell for Madison Keys in the first match of the American\u2019s Australian Open<\/a> title defence with a vicious concoction of drop shots, slices and, most notably, moonballs that seemed to graze the stadium roof. Despite facing two set points in the opener, Keys showed her mental fortitude as she advanced to the second round with a 7-6 (6), 6-1 victory.<\/p>\n This was an essential victory for Keys, but in many ways her 25-year-old Ukrainian opponent, competing in a grand slam main draw for the first time, stole the show. On the court, she has enjoyed a dramatic breakthrough year, rising from No 297 last March to her current ranking of No 92. She won 57 matches last year and seven titles, all on the lower level WTA 125 and ITF circuits.<\/p>\n Keys quickly learned exactly why Oliynykova has won so many matches as the Ukrainian disrupted her veteran opponent with her expert junk-balling throughout their opening set. Oliynykova deprived Keys of any rhythm, racing to a 4-0 lead. She then led 4-0 in the tie-break before earning two consecutive set points at 6-4. Keys responded with an astounding sequence of points, eviscerating four consecutive winners to take the set without hesitation. With the first set miraculously secured, the American rolled to victory.<\/p>\n Asked when she last faced a similar playing style, Keys was effusive about her opponent\u2019s level. \u201cLike 12-and-under,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s obviously no disrespect to her at all, but it\u2019s just been a really long time to play someone who plays that style, but she does it so effectively.\u201d<\/p>\n You can read the rest here:<\/p>\n