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sport">Initially it looked good for Rus who won the first set 6-3. She had to leave the second company to her Slovenian opponent with the same numbers, which meant that it came down to a decisive third set.
sport">In this, Rus faced a 3-5 deficit, but showed that she has a dose of perseverance. She survived three match points and won three games in a row to take a 6-5 lead. Zidask then straightened her back and pulled out a decisive tiebreak. In the exciting tiebreak, Rus quickly faced a 5-0 deficit, but she kept fighting. She won three points in a row and not much later she even led 7-6. But after 2 hours and 27 minutes, Zidask finally used her fourth game point.
sport">She also got stuck in the opening round in the last six grand slams that Rus played. She last won a match on the highest podium at the Australian Open in 2020. At a lower level, Rus has been a lot more successful in recent years.
sport">“At the moment I am of course very disappointed, because I have just finished. I think we both played messy with a lot of unnecessary mistakes. It went up and down,” said Rus about the curious party. “I hadn’t lost faith in the third set and was there until the last point. But it just fell her way,” said Rus.
sport">“I certainly blame myself, but I don’t really know at what moments now. But I have to move on, that’s tennis. Every week there is just about a new tournament. It sucks today, but tomorrow is a new day.”
Murray continues after epic fight
sport">Andy Murray has qualified for the second round after a thrilling match. The Scot was too strong for Nikoloz Basilashvili after a wonderful tennis fight in five sets: 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, 6-7, 6-4.
sport">The former number one in the world and the Georgian treated the audience to a wonderful tennis fight. After a real battle of wear and tear, Murray, who had been admitted to the main tournament with a wild card, stepped off the track as the winner. The party lasted almost 4 hours.
sport">Murray reached the final of the Australian Open five times, but he has never won the tournament. Due to physical problems, the three-time grand slam winner has dropped out of the top 100 in the world rankings. Last weekend he lost the final of the Sydney tournament.
sport">“This is amazing. It’s been three tough years for me,” said Murray, who underwent hip surgery. “I’ve done a lot of work to get back here.”
sport">In the second round in Melbourne, Murray will play against the Japanese Taro Daniel.
Daniil Medvedev has a hard time one set
sport">Daniil Medvedev has had an excellent start to the Australian Open. The Russian, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the final last year, settled in the first round with the Swiss Henri Laaksonen 6-1 6-4 7-6 (3).
sport">Only in the last act did Medvedev have some problems with the number 91 in the world. But with four points in a row, the tiebreak became a prey for the Russian. Within 2 hours he had the victory.
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Daniil Medvedev in action.
Ⓒ HH/ANP
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sport">In the second round, Medvedev may face Australian Nick Kyrgios, who first meets Englishman Liam Broady. “If you broadcast that match, I will definitely see what they show,” said the world number 2 with a smile.
sport">Medvedev is the highest placed player in the men’s tournament after the withdrawal of title holder Djokovic.
Tsitsipas at Australian Open in three sets alongside Ymer
sport">Stefanos Tsitsipas has convincingly qualified for the second round at the Australian Open. The fourth seeded Greek had little trouble in his opening match with Mikael Ymer, the Swedish number 82 in the world. In a match that lasted a little over two hours, it was 6-2 6-4 6-3.
sport">Tsitsipas will face Sebastián Báez in the next round. The Argentine is the global number 88.
sport">Last year, Tsitsipas reached the semi-final in Melbourne. In it he lost to the Russian Daniil Medvedev.
Ruud withdraws from Australian Open
sport">Norwegian tennis player Casper Ruud will not play at the Australian Open this year. 23-year-old Ruud, the number 8 in the world, has suffered an ankle injury.
sport">Ruud reached the fourth round at the Australian Open last year, his best result at a grand slam tournament. He won no less than five titles in 2021 and saw his advance rewarded with participation in the ATP Finals in Turin, where he won two group matches and was eliminated in the semi-finals by Russian Daniil Medvedev.
sport">Roman Safioellin from Russia is Ruud’s replacement.
Former finalist Kvitova already eliminated
sport">Former finalist Petra Kvitova has already been eliminated in the first round. The Czech tennis star won just four games against Romanian Sorana Cirstea. It became 6-2 6-2 for the number 38 in the world.
sport">The 31-year-old Kvitova was placed 20th this year. She reached the final battle in Melbourne in 2019. She lost in the final to Japan’s Naomi Osaka three years ago.
sport">Last year, Kvitova, two-time Wimbledon champion, already performed poorly in the grand slams. She never got past the third round.
sport">Third-seeded Garbiñe Muguruza, who in turn reached the final in 2020, did win her first match. In the Rod Laver Arena, the Spanish was too strong for the French Clara Burel in two sets: 6-3 6-4. Muguruza led 5-2 in the second set and only used her fifth game point, on Burel’s service.
Kerber already loses in the first round on her birthday
sport">For Angelique Kerber, the Australian Open is already over. The German three-time Grand Slam champion lost on her birthday (34) in the first round to Kaia Kanepi from Estonia: 4-6 3-6.
sport">Kerber did not have high expectations before the start of the tournament. Due to a corona infection, she was unable to participate in preparatory tournaments.
sport">Andrea Petkovic and Tatjana Maria, fellow countrymen of Kerber, were already eliminated on Monday. That means that for the first time since 1977, no German player is in the second round at the Australian Open.
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