Day 2 at the Australian Open saw 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev make his tournament debut, as well as five-time Melbourne Park finalist Andy Murray, who notched another epic five-set victory. It was an action-packed day, full of great matches.
Australian Open Men’s Day 2 Recap
Who looked good
It was a day for the old dogs to shine, with Richard Gasquet getting a surprising win over his countryman Ugo Humbert. It was a very tight battle, but the 35-year-old Frenchman prevailed, showing he might still have a little left to give to the tour before he calls it a day.
The same can be said about Philipp Kohlschreiber. At 38, the German is still capable of some very good tennis and he proved it today with a straight set win over the 2018 Roland Garros semifinalist Marco Cecchinato.
Andrey Rublev ended 2021 in very poor form, but his 2022 debut was certainly encouraging. Only time will tell if his dominant Round 1 performance is a sign of things to come, but so far so good.
Andy Murray‘s epic five-set victory over Basilashvili was certainly the climax of the day in Melborune. It was a long, super-intense four-hour battle, with Basilashvili’s inability to smash being the decider at the end. Murray fought like a madman as usual and lives to fight another day in this tournament.
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Who looked bad
John Isner played yet another long five-set match at a Slam, but came up short in the end against recent Melbourne finalist Maxime Cressy. In a heavily serve-dominated match, with only two breaks in five sets, 39 aces weren’t enough for the American to go through; once again his inability to break serve cost him a run at a Grand Slam tournament.
David Goffin‘s poor form has continued here in Australia. Not only did he lose, but he only won seven games against Daniel Evans, getting outplayed from beginning to end. It’s increasingly looking like Goffin’s best day are fully behind him.
Roberto Bautista Agut did win his first-round match, but his performance was far from inspiring as he struggle massively to put away Stefano Travaglia. The Spaniard doesn’t look ready to have a big run here.
Main Photo from Getty.
