An action-packed Day 2 of the Australian Open featured Grand Slam champions, five-set battles, and thankfully great weather. LWOT recaps the men’s highlights and big moments from Monday’s matches. There’s a lot to get to.
Australian Open Day 2 Men’s Recap
Who Looked Good
Defending Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner kicked off his 2025 campaign with a 7-6(2) 7-6(5) 6-1 win over Nicolas Jarry. This was no easy match for the Italian, and Jarry went toe-to-toe with the World #1 from the baseline. Jarry was the more aggressive of the two players, while Sinner’s patience got him through two tough tiebreaks. Jarry made a couple of crucial misses late in the second set, and his game then crumbled in the third set.
Carlos Alcaraz has never lost in the first round of a Grand Slam, as he won 6-1 7-5 6-1 over Alexander Shevchenko under the Margaret Court Arena night lights. Down 5-3 in the second set, Alcaraz found an extra gear and was not challenged for the remainder of the match. Alcaraz hit 38 winners in a match that didn’t surpass the two-hour mark.
While Alcaraz headlined Margaret Court Arena, ten-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic featured on Rod Laver Arena to begin his quest for a 25th Grand Slam title. It was no easy task for the Serb, as he defeated Nishesh Basavareddy 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-2, a talented American who turned pro just weeks ago. Basavareddy struggled with cramps late in the match, but his heavy groundstrokes mirrored the man across the net. Djokovic seemed sluggish at times, but he improved along the way and shook off any first-round nerves. All eyes were on the Serb’s coaching box, as former rival Andy Murray could be found for the first time.
The many moods of Coach Andy 😅#AO2025 pic.twitter.com/dggRGqwnDV
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 13, 2025
The Aussies thrived and delighted the home crowd. After a 0-3 day for the male Aussies on Day 1, the home crowd heroes went 6-2 in the men’s draw. Among the top of those six wins include Thanasi Kokkinakis’ four-hour win over Roman Safiullin, and Aleksandar Vukic battling from two sets to one down in a win against Damir Džumhur. A shoutout has to go to Christopher O’Connell, who nearly upset World No. 11 Tommy Paul. O’Connell pushed the American with great slices and touch, but the American won 6-2 3-6 6-1 6-7(5) 7-5.
Who Looked Bad
The highest seed to fall on Day 2 was Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has continued to struggle with his form. He lost to Alex Michelsen, the young American 7-5 6-3 2-6 6-4, in one of the matches of the day. I thought both players played well, but it all came down to a few key mistakes from Tsitsipas. The 4-4 game in the fourth set was incredible, with Michelsen firing three massive return winners to put the Greek on edge. As Tsitsipas’ game started to falter toward the end, he shanked far too many easy shots and could not control his mental state. Michelsen may have one of the Top 10 backhands on the tour at the moment.
Among the six Aussie male wins came two Aussie male losses — and none was more brutal than Nick Kyrgios’ straight sets loss to Jacob Fearnley. Kyrgios was up to his old bag of tricks — rowdy fans saw underarm serves, tweeners, and expressive profanity. But in a 7-6(3) 6-3 7-6(2) loss, the Aussie struggled with an abdominal injury, and could not physically keep up with Fearnley. Kyrgios admitted after the match that he may not play singles at the Australian Open again in his career.
A couple of other seeds fell on Day 2–clay court specialists Alejandro Tabilo and Sebastian Baez. Tabilo’s loss to Roberto Carballés Baena was arguably the more surprising of the two, but both Tabilo and Baez will need to keep up with the tour if they want to remain in the Top 30 throughout 2025.
Finally, a mention of Grigor Dimitrov’s injury woes has to be made–the Bulgarian retired for the third consecutive Grand Slam, this time against Francesco Passaro. Down 7-5 2-1, Dimitrov called it quits, and will fall out of the Top 10 as a result. Passaro is a lucky loser, only finding out about his main draw entry hours before the match.
Match of the Day
Lots of great matches are candidates for Day 2’s best battle. A quick honorable mention will go to Fabian Marozsan‘s five-set win over Thiago Seyboth Wild. Marozsan, who reached the third round of the Australian Open last year, had seven break-point opportunities in the fifth set, struggling to convert. Finally, he broke serve on his ninth break point opportunity, closing out a 7-5 fifth set.
However, the match of the day for me is Frances Tiafoe‘s four-hour win over Arthur Rinderknech. Although the five-set match lacked quality at times, the crowd energy and American’s grit made up for it.
Tiafoe, who ultimately won 7-6(2) 6-3 4-6 6-7(4) 6-3, threw up late in the fourth set. It happened minutes after the American failed to serve out the match, and the momentum swung in Rinderknech’s favor. The Frenchman fired some clutch winners to win the fourth-set tiebreak.
The American picked it up in the fifth set, though he was visibly cramping. Tiafoe broke serve at love midway through the final set, and he hit a slick passing shot to hold one game later. By this point, he had the energy he needed to reach the second round.
Tiafoe will get two days off before his second-round match, and should be able to recover. Good for the American: he’ll play Marozsan next in the battle of the exhausted first-round winners.
All of the 26 Monday winners surely need a recharge, while the final first-round matches make up Day 3’s order of play. Follow LWOT for Australian Open predictions and coverage, as the action continues.
Main Photo Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports
