Get Guardian on GoogleAlexander Zverev recovered from a difficult first set to reach the second round of the Australian Open on Sunday, while top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka are set to begin their campaigns later in the day.
Zverev, the third seed and runner-up last year to Jannik Sinner, lost the opening set in a tie-break to Canada’s 41st-ranked Gabriel Diallo before rallying to win 6-7 (1-7), 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena. He will next face either home player Alexei Popyrin or France’s Alexandre Muller.
“Definitely when I saw the draw I was not too happy,” Zverev said on court. “He is someone very young, talented and unbelievably aggressive.” On his first-set struggles, he added: “I was thinking it can’t get worse than that.”
Several other seeds progressed safely, including seventh-seeded Italian Jasmine Paolini, who defeated Belarusian qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-1, 6-2, and 12th-seeded Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, who overcame Spain’s Cristina Bucsa 6-4, 6-1.
However, the opening day saw notable upsets. British qualifier Arthur Fery defeated 20th seed Flavio Cobolli of Italy 7-6 (7-1), 6-4, 6-1, while Ukraine’s 26th seed Dayana Yastremska lost 6-4, 7-5 to Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse.
Alcaraz, who holds titles at the US Open, Wimbledon, and French Open, is seeking his first Australian Open victory to complete a career Grand Slam. The 22-year-old world number one begins his campaign against Australia’s 79th-ranked Adam Walton. “I’m just hungry for the title, hungry to do a really good result here,” Alcaraz said. “I’m just getting ready as much as I can. I’m really excited about the tournament beginning.”
Sabalenka opens the night session on centre court against French wildcard Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah. The Belarusian, a two-time Melbourne champion, lost in last year’s final to Madison Keys but won the Brisbane International last week. “I can’t complain about my start of the season. I think I played some great matches there, showed great tennis,” she said.
Veteran Venus Williams, ranked 576, also returns to Melbourne for the first time since 2021 after receiving a wildcard. She faces 68th-ranked Olga Danilovic of Serbia and acknowledged the challenge ahead: “This is the greatest place on Earth to play. I have had amazing memories here. I love challenges, so I’m up for the challenge.”
The tournament continues under hot and sunny conditions, with high expectations for the top seeds and a number of early-round surprises already emerging.
