Australian Open 2025 Begins With Stormy Weather And Five-Set Thrillers

Casper Ruud, Australian Open
Casper Ruud (photo: Tennis Australia/James Gourley)

MELBOURNE/WASHINGTON, January 12, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)

Despite a lengthy rain delay that reduced the Opening Day schedule at the Australian Open in Melbourne Sunday, there were still plenty of compelling matches and a few five-set thrillers, too, won by Kei Nishikori and Casper Ruud.

Sabalenka begins quest for AO three-peat with 15th straight win

World No. 1 and two-time defending Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus won her 15th straight match in Melbourne Sunday evening. Her 6-3, 6-2 victory over No. 81 Sloane Stephens of the United States opened the night session on Rod Laver following day-time rain storms that stretched over the course of six hours and forced the cancellation of eight of the original 32 scheduled matches at Melbourne Park.

The show went on inside Rod Laver Arena – on schedule – and the top-seeded Sabalenka didn’t disappoint. The 26-year-old, three-time major champion – seeded No. 1 at a major for the first time – needed just 71 minutes to move into the second round. She did it with a solid, if not spectacular, effort by hitting 20 winners to nine for the 2017 US Open champion Stephens. Sabalenka converted five of 13 break points and outpointed her opponent 63-46.

The victory improved Sabalenka’s career head-to-head against the 31-year-old American to 5-0.

“I’m super happy to be back, I love this place,” Sabalenka said in her on-court interview.

“It was a tough match – always tough matches against her. It’s not like I played my best probably, but I’m happy I was able to close this match in straight sets. Melbourne Park feels like home.”

Sabalenka treated the Rod Laver Arena fans to an impromptu Tik-Tok-inspired dance to conclude her interview with Jelena Dokic and was rewarded with warm applause. It was win-win for everyone.

During her recent pre-tournament news conference Sabalenka told reporters: “I think, like, mindset changed a lot,” she said. “Approach to the Slams is different. Priorities are different. I would say that mentally I changed a lot.

“I have that understanding that ‘okay, I got it, I know how to do that’. I know how to separate on-court and off-court life. Before, an extra day off would be too much for me because I would overthink about the upcoming match.”

Now, Sabalenka will have a few days to think about her next match, against No. 54 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain, who eliminated No. 87 Sonay Kartal of Great Britain, 6-1, 7-6 (5).

Zverev starts smoothly, advances past Pouille

Alexander Zverev of Germany was determined to put aside the memory of his Australian Open semifinal loss a year ago to Daniil Medvedev, in which he was two-sets-to-love up on Rod Laver Arena.

The World No. 2, who earlier this month withdrew from his team’s United Cup quarterfinal match against Kazakhstan due to a bicep strain, showed no signs of discomfort in moving past 103rd-ranked French wild card Lucas Pouille, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, in two hours and 21 minutes on the same court as his heartbreak loss to Medvedev in 2024. This time, Zverev hit 18 aces, struck 37 winners and saved both break points he faced during his first meeting against Pouille.

“He’s someone that when healthy, he’s somebody definitely not at the ranking that he is,” Zverev said in his on-court interview. He gave props to Pouille, who was a 2019 AO semifinalist. “He’s been in the semifinals here before.

“He’s definitely a great player. I wish him health, first of all, and he’s going to be back up the rankings soon.”

Now, Zverev is through to the second round for the ninth straight year in Melbourne, where he’s hoping to become the first German man to win a major since Boris Becker at the Australian Open in 1996. Next, he will face No. 44 Pedro Martinez of Spain, who won by retirement over No. 45 Luca Darderi of Italy, after leading 6-3, 4-1.

Nishikori, Ruud go the distance to win

Both Kei Nishikori of Japan and Norway’s Casper Ruud took the scenic route to advance to second round play in Melbourne. Each needed five sets to beat their respective opponents – and they won with the roof covering the show-court arena each played on.

The former World No. 4 Nishikori saved a couple of match points in the third set of his 4-6, 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 victory over 105th-ranked qualifier Thiago Monteiro of Brazil in four hours and six minutes on John Cain Arena Sunday afternoon. Over on Rod Laver Arena, the World No. 6 Ruud overcame Spain’s Jaume Munar to win 6-3, 1-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1, in three hours and 21 minutes.

Nishikori, ranked 76th, hit 17 aces and accumulated 67 winners against Monteiro. He outpointed the Brazilian 162-147 to advance into the second round at the AO for the first time since 2019.

“It was a really tough one,” Nishikori admitted after the match. “I almost forgot he had two match points. I tried to stay calm even though I was almost out of the tournament. I just tried to focus on what I can do.

“I almost gave up. Match point and he was playing very good. First and second sets, he was on a roll. He almost deserved to win. But somehow, I fought back.”

Next, Nishikori will play either No. 12 seed Tommy Paul of the United States or No. 70 Christopher O’Connell of Australia.

Meanwhile, Ruud struck 48 winners and overcame 37 unforced errors compared with 48 winners and 40 unforced errors by the 62nd-ranked Munar and improved his five-set win-loss record to 10-6. It was his third career win over the Spaniard.

“It’s quite normal to be nervous at the beginning of a tournament,” Ruud said. “I’ve never played my opening match on a Sunday, and it feels like if I would have lost today, I feel like I would have been on the way home before the tournament even started. Really didn’t want to lose.

“I guess maybe that helped me pull through the fifth set.”

Ruud improved his five-set record to 10-6 and it earned him a berth in the second round against either No. 48 Jakub Mensik of Czechia or 206th-ranked qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia.

Around the Australian Open

On a stormy day at Melbourne Park, in which eight outer-court matches were cancelled and rescheduled to Monday, there were a handful of matches that did get played. Day session attendance numbered 55,704 fans despite the inclement weather.

Among the men’s winners:

• No. 24 seed Jiri Lehecha of Czechia, a 2023 AO quarterfinalist, defeated 168-ranked Australian wild card Li Tu, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (1), in two hours and 20 minutes to improve to 6-0 in 2025. Lehecka fired 13 aces and struck 45 winners in his winning effort. After winning his second ATP Tour title in Brisbane last week, the Czech star will face Frenchman Hugo Gaston, ranked 81st, in the next round. Gaston beat 179th-ranked Australian wild card Omar Jasika, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.

• Also advancing: No. 14 seed Ugo Humbert of France, who defeated 145th-ranked Italian qualifier Matteo Gigante, 7-6 (5), 7-5, 6-4; No. 26 seed Tomas Machac of Czechia, a 6-3, 6-1, 7-5 winner over No. 91 Sumit Nagal of India; No. 74 Quentin Halys of France, who went the distance to beat No. 90 Adam Walton of Australia, 4-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4), 7-5; No. 170 Reilly Opelka of the United States, who defeated 239th-ranked Belgian qualifier Gauthier Onclin, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2, for his first Grand Slam win since 2022; and 219th-ranked Lebanese qualifier Hady Habib, who needed two hours and 31 minutes to defeat No. 67 Bu Yunchaokete of China, 7-6 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (6). Habib became the first player from Lebanon to win a Grand Slam match.

• The first winner of the day was No. 20 seed Arthur Fils of France, who recovered from a set down to beat No. 93 Otto Virtanen of Finland, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4, 6-4.

Among the women’s winners:

• No. 11 Paula Badosa of Spain, who defeated No. 37 Wang Xinyu of China, 6-3, 7-6 (5); No. 18 Donna Vekic of Croatia, who beat No. 66 Diana Parry of France, 6-4, 6-4; No. 30 seed Leylah Fernandez of Canada, who advanced over No. 100 Yuliia Starodubtseva of Ukraine, 7-5, 6-4, in a match that started before the rain delay but ended nearly nine hours after it began; No. 42 Clara Tauson of Denmark, who upset No. 29 seed Linda Noskova of Czechia, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4; and No. 73 Anna Blinkova of Russia, who defeated 124th-ranked Australian wild card Daria Seville, 1-6, 6-4, 7-5, in the last match of the day to finish, which occurred after midnight.

• Also advancing: No. 90 Tatjana Maria of Germany, who beat No. 78 Bernarda Pera of the United States, 7-6 (3), 6-4; No. 110 Cristina Bucsa of Spain, who bested 122nd-ranked French wild card Chloe Paquet, 6-2, 6-3; and No. 77 Suzan Lamens of the Netherlands, who moved past 171st-ranked qualifier Veronika Erjavec of Slovenia, 7-5, 7-6 (2).

• Earlier winners included No. 5 seed Zheng Qinwen of China and No. 14 seed Mirra Andreeva of Russia.

Sunday’s Australian Open results

Monday’s Australian Open order of play

By the numbers

When Kei Nishikori rallied from down two-sets-to-none to win his first-round match over Thiago Monteiro, it was the fifth time in his career he’s achieved the feat. Nishikori is now 29-8 in fifth-set matches.

“Quotable …”

“I’m really glad that I improved my mental toughness, let’s say. I’m able to stay focused no matter what the score, what the situation is. I’m focusing on the game, on the point. I’m focusing point by point.”

– World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, during her post-match news conference, following her first-round win over Sloane Stephens of the United States.

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