Australian Open tennis Championship 2025 Day 2 on January 13, 2025. Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in action

Carlos Alcaraz launched his bid for a first Australian Open crown by dismantling Kazakhstan’s Alexander Shevchenko in straight sets on Monday.

Spain’s Alcaraz, playing his first match of the season, suffered a couple of hairy moments in Melbourne before easing through 6-1, 7-5, 6-1.

“There is no secret, I work, I try to be better every day,” said Alcaraz, who is bidding to complete a career Grand Slam of all four majors aged just 21.

“I am trying to be a better person and player every day,” added the Spaniard, who faces Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka in the second round.

The four-time major champion and world number three Alcaraz romped through the first set in barely half an hour in a signal of intent.

The 77th-ranked Shevchenko put up a much sterner fight in the second set.

Alcaraz got the break of serve to take a 3-1 lead only for the Kazakh to break back and then hold for 3-3.

The emboldened 24-year-old then stunned the Melbourne crowd by breaking the third seed to edge ahead.

Shevchenko served for the second set but Alcaraz, who has never gone beyond the last eight at the first major of the year, upped the ante to break back for 5-5.

He took the second set in just under an hour with another break of serve when Shevchenko planted his return under pressure into the net.

With Shevchenko’s spirit broken, Alcaraz eased to victory in one hour and 54 minutes.

“This is a tournament I really want to win one day, hopefully this year,” he said.

Sinner launches his title defence

Jannik Sinner launched his Australian Open title defence with a battling straight-sets win as Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff also powered into round two.

Novak Djokovic begins his bid for Grand Slam history later on a blockbuster second day which also sees Carlos Alcaraz in action in Melbourne.

But former finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas became the first big casualty as he was stunned by American Alex Michelsen, ranked 42 in the world.

Italian world number one Sinner is playing under a cloud after twice testing positive for traces of a steroid in March.

He denies wrongdoing and was cleared by tennis authorities, but the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed and is seeking to ban him for up to two years.

Sinner was warmly welcomed on Rod Laver Arena before defeating Chile’s Nicolas Jarry 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/5), 6-1.

“Today it was a close one because in the first sets it could have gone both ways,” said Sinner, who has not tasted defeat since losing to Alcaraz in the Beijing final in October.

Djokovic rallies past inspired American Basavareddy

Novak Djokovic was seriously rattled early on by inspired American teenager Nishesh Basavareddy but rallied for a 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-2 victory on Monday to keep his bid for an 11th Australian Open title alive into the second round.

Basavareddy, making his Grand Slam debut, made Djokovic look every one of his 37 years as he tore around Rod Laver Arena mixing clean winners with some beautifully deft drop shots.

The 19-year-old had the crowd on their feet when he broke for 4-3 in the first set with a sizzling backhand return, again when he fought off two break points to hold for 5-3, and a third time when Djokovic dumped a backhand into the net to cede the set.

The onslaught continued into the second set as Djokovic tried to reassert himself and it was not until the eighth game that the former world number one managed to convert his first break point of the contest.

Djokovic let out a huge roar as Basavareddy miscued the forehand that gave him the breakthrough and served out to level up the contest as the young American started cramping.

The seventh seed broke again to open the third set and although Basavareddy showed glimpses of the shot-making that won him the first set, Djokovic was now back in charge on the blue court where he has won 10 of his 24 Grand Slam titles.

Another huge roar came as Djokovic sealed the third set and he stopped off for a chat with one-time adversary Andy Murray in his coach’s box before breaking Basavareddy again at the start of the fourth.

Basavareddy was now exhausted by his Herculean early efforts and the roars from the other end continued as Djokovic drove home his dominance before wrapping up his 378th Grand Slam victory with his 23rd ace on his fourth match point.

“In the end it was great, but he was the better player for the first set and a half and he deserved every bit of applause he got as he left the court,” said Djokovic.

“This kind of match is always tricky, playing against someone who has nothing to lose. He handled himself really well and I’m sure we’ll see plenty of him in the future.”

Ailing Kyrgios makes gloomy exit from Australian Open

Nick Kyrgios’s long-awaited return to the Grand Slam stage was cut short on Monday as Briton Jacob Fearnley sent the ailing home hero out of the Australian Open in the first round.

A capacity crowd packed out Kyrgios’s favourite John Cain Arena for his first match at Melbourne Park in three years, hoping the tennis showman could shrug off an abdominal strain to battle through.

Most left deflated as Kyrgios went down swinging in a 7-6(3) 6-3 7-6(2) defeat, with the injury hampering his serve and movement.

With most of his last two seasons wiped out due to knee problems and wrist surgery, a gloomy Kyrgios said he might have played his last singles match at Melbourne Park given his injury fatigue.

“I went out there, I would say 65% of my capacity,” he told reporters.

“For (the fans) to really see me fighting and still giving me that energy, it meant a lot, because I feel like I’ve given my life to tennis and I’ve tried to give them a show every time I go out there.

“Realistically, I can’t see myself playing a singles match here again.”

Coco Gauff sails into second round

Coco Gauff had a little difficulty adjusting to the sun at one end of Rod Laver Arena and dropped an early service game but quickly settled into a rhythm to start her Australian Open a 6-3, 6-3 win Monday over 2020 champion Sofia Kenin.

Third-seeded Gauff won the title at the WTA Finals last November and started this season by helping the U.S. to victory at the United Cup last week, a run that gives her a chance to move atop the rankings.

The 2023 U.S. Open champion is wearing a Marvel-inspired bodysuit and skirt at Melbourne Park and she’s radiating confidence and calm.

“I knew going in it was going to be difficult, but you know I’m happy with how I played,” she said of the 1-hour, 20-minute win over Kenin, who at No. 81 is a much tougher opponent than her ranking suggests.

“I mean (I) could serve better, but like on that side I was struggling to see the ball,” Guaff said, pointing to one baseline on the main show court that was bathed in sun. “So I’m just happy that I was able to manage through that.”

Gauff went into her opening round on a streak of winning 33 matches against players ranked outside the Top 50, dating to a loss to Kenin at Wimbledon 2023.

It was tough going early, with Gauff converting an early break before Kenin got back on serve at 2-2, hitting deep ground strokes and getting good bounce off the hard court.

But Gauff, who had five aces and four double-faults in her first two service games, lifted her tempo, started taking the ball earlier and won four of the next five games. She finished the match with 12 aces and nine double-faults, and saved seven of the eight breakpoints she faced. She also had 28 winners, including two rifling backhands on key points in the second set, and 13 unforced errors.

The draw presented another tough trip to Australia for Kenin. It was the third straight year Kenin faced a Grand Slam champion in the first round in Australia, and her fourth consecutive first-round exit here.

Guaff will next play Jodie Burrage of Britain. Also advancing from early matches were No. 12 Diana Shnaider and No. 25 Liudmila Samsonova.

After a stop-start Day 1 on Sunday, including more than six hours of rain, Monday’s packed program also includes matches for 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, defending champion Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz.

Unconvincing win for Iga Swiatek

World number two Iga Swiatek advanced to the second round of the Australian Open with an unconvincing 6-3 6-4 win against first-time opponent Katerina Siniakova on John Cain Arena.

Swiatek struggled to find the deliberate rhythm that has helped win her five Grand Slam titles as her Czech opponent, a doubles specialist, put up some stiff resistance.

“For sure it wasn’t an easy first round so I’m happy I got through,” said the 23-year-old Pole.

“I felt like she was playing really well and I knew I needed to be more proactive and I was that way (in the end).”

Her hesitant win against the 50th-ranked Siniakova was nonetheless popular with the many Polish fans who always provide her with strong support in Melbourne.

Swiatek, who served a one-month doping ban around the WTA Finals last November, thanked the fans on court before revealing that she listened to hard rock before coming out for her match.

Swiatek could go back to the top of the world rankings if there are early exits for Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff but the priority for the Pole would surely be to add a first Australian Open title to her four French Open and single U.S. Open crowns.

Swiatek, whose best performance on the Australian Open’s hardcourts was a semi-final loss to American Danielle Collins in 2022, will play Rebecca Sramkova of Slovakia in the second round.