Seeded Americans Who Survived Round One
[3] Jessica Pegula had a very easy day at the office. The American defeated [143] Jaqueline Cristian 6-0, 6-1. [7] Coco Gauff battled hard in the second set, but walked away with the 6-1, 6-4 victory over [48] Katerina Siniakova. [10] Madison Keys went three sets in her match against [72] Anna Blinkova. Keys won 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
[13] Danielle Collins also had a three-set battle against [64] Anna Kalinskaya. Collins won 7-5, 5-7, 6-4. [16] Frances Tiafoe fought off [91] Daniel Altmaier in four sets; he won 6-3, 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-6(6). [29] Sebastian Korda won in four sets after losing his concentration in set two. He defeated [87] Cristian Garin 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Embed from Getty ImagesUnseeded Americans Who Survived Day 1
In 2018 [44] Bernarda Pera made it to the third round of the Australian Open. Will she surpass that result this year? Pera had to go three sets in her victory over the wildcard, [118] Moyuka Uchijima. Pera won 2-6, 6-3, 6-1. Great effort from [123] Christopher Eubanks. Eubanks is hoping to capitalize on his opportunity as a wildcard. Yet, he had to go five sets to defeat [84] Soonwoo Kwon. They went back and forth until the American pulled it out 6-4 in the fifth set.
Tough match for two Americans, who had to battle each other to get to round two. The long-time veteran, [63] Mackenzie McDonald persevered over [47] Brandon Nakashima. There were three tiebreakers, two of which were won by McDonald. Great effort from [95] Catherine McNally to get back to the second round of the Australian Open. McNally defeated [113] Laura Pigossi 7-5, 6-1.
Seeds That Lost Their Way On Day 1
It is not surprising that [17] Lorenzo Musetti lost. The Italian came into the tournament with a shoulder injury. The fact that he was able to go to five sets is a testament to his grit. [212] Lloyd Harris won 6-4, 6-1, 6-7(0), 2-6, 7-6 (10-4). This was a surprise, [21] Borna Coric lost easily in straight sets to [78] Jiri Lehecka. The Czech player won 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
American [28] Amanda Anisimova continues to struggle, not sure what is going on with her. She lost 3-6, 4-6 to [57] Marta Kostyuk. [25] Marie Bouzkova lost 2-6, 4-6 [42] Bianca Andreescu.
Embed from Getty ImagesSpecial Mention: Rafael Nadal
The number one seed and my favorite male tennis player, Rafael Nadal, had a battle on his hands. At least that is how it initially appeared. I think the struggle was more a mental one for Nadal than physical. Nevertheless, he played much better as the match progressed and won 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1.
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