Key events
Djokovic 2-1 Prizmic* (* denotes server)
Prizmic eats a half-hearted Djokovic smash to go 15-0 up and then hits a super backhand straight down the line to outfox his opponent. A delicate flutter of a drop shop is followed up by a cross-court winning waft. At 40-0 up a double fault gives Djokovic a way back, but Prizmic holds on to take the game . Very nicely done!
Djokovic* 2-0 Prizmic (* denotes server)
Prizmic, dressed very much like a young Ronaldo, shifts from foot to foot waiting to receive the Djokovic serve, but it’s a fairly easy win to fifteen for the defending champion.
Djokovic 1-0 Prizmic* (* denotes server)
The first match of the first night session of the Australian Open. From the crowd, Djokovic’s coach Ivanisevic watches intently. Djokovic should eat 18-year-old Prizmic alive – famous last words – but Prizmic, I am reliably told, will be a star. He came through the qualifying event dropping just one set. Prizmic loses the first two points, but holds onto two break points before hitting into the net and Djokovic breaks. But it wasn’t a breeze.
Djokovic starts his title defence – against Dino Prizmic
The world’s greatest male tennis player has the ball in his hand as he and Prizmic warm up on the Rod Laver arena. Djokovic is in all royal blue, Prizmic in short shorts, white T-shirt and backwards baseball cap.
Jodie Burrage loses in the first round
A bad day for the British number two Jodie Burrage, who danced through the first set against Tamara Korpatsch, but then completely lost her mojo, defeated 2-6 6-3 6-0.
“A bit of a tough one today. Still pretty raw, to be honest, so still a lot of emotions there. It was just a tough end to a match really.
“I found it tough to serve in that wind and just my game in general. I tried to adjust as much as possible, but yeah, when you hit a bigger ball I guess and don’t grind it out, when it gets windy, it’s not as easy to play, but that’s just what I need to learn to do. I need to learn to have a bit of a plan B because there was no plan B there today.”
Andrey Rubelev scrapes through in a five-setter
In the last ten minutes, Number five seed Andrey Rubelev has just thrown himself on the ground and roared in triumph, shaking his mane of red hair, after struggling through a five-set thriller against Thiago Seyboth Wild: 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(6) .
The first ever Sunday start of a 15-day tournament has worked like a dream for the organisers of the Australian Open:
The Sunday start has been a success for the #AusOpen, with an announced Day 1 day session attendance of 58,623, eclipsing last year’s Day 1 day session crowd figure of 49,274.
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshMedia) January 14, 2024
and on the courts, we have already had drama…
Preamble
Good morning! It’s may be black outside here in the UK but across the oceans, summer is beaming. The first day of the first Grand Slam of the year is underway in Melbourne, all squeaky trainers, blue courts and Novak Djokovic hungrily licking his lips for his eleventh Australian Open title.
His old foe Rafa Nadal isn’t here, withdrawing with a muscle tear in his hip, but Carlos Alcaraz, Danniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner prowl, desperately-looking for signs of ageing in the ageless one. In the women’s draw, Aryna Sabalenka defends her title after winning her first career major here last year. No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek is the favourite for the crown while there is lots of interest in comeback queens Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber and Britain’s own Emma Raducanu.