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Australian Open Recap: Day 1 - The Heat is On
by Nadya Vlassoff
Melbourne, Australia saw lots of action yesterday
as swarms of fans streamed onto the courts for
the first Slam of the season. Unlike other tournaments,
all slams, including the French Open, Wimbledon
and the U.S. Open, require each player to start
from the first round as no byes are given, even
to the top-seeded players. With so much pressure
and focus on the first matches of the Aussie Open,
it all comes down to the players that can keep
a handle on the nerves. The early rounds of The
Australian Open always make for a few shocking
upsets and disappointing starts to a player's
season, but they also provide plenty of heart-stopping
moments and a chance for a new star to emerge.
These are our picks for the best and worst performances of the day:
Best of Day 1:
Andy Roddick (7) vs. Bjorn Rehnquist
The #7 seed in the men's draw, Andy Roddick,
took to the court to complete an efficient match
against Bjorn Rehnquist where he showed that
he still has what it takes to be in a Slam.
Many have questioned whether Roddick can return
to the glory days when he won the U.S. Open
in 2003 with so much competition at the top
of the men's rankings. But his performance on
Day 1 was enough to silence the critics for
at least a few minutes. Roddick efficiently
took out Rehnquist, a Swedish qualifier, with
his blistering aces and 17 winners. However,
what proved to be Roddick's saving grace was
his ability to manage shots and keep his unforced
errors to 10. Tennis is as much a mental game
as it is physical and this time Andy Roddick
won both. Let's see if he can keep it up against
his next opponent, Xavier Malisse.
Jelena Dokic vs. Tamira Paszek
 On
Day 1 Jelena Dokic proved that she has defied
all odds by coming back and winning her first-round
match against Austrian Tamira Paszek. While
Dokic's record at the Australian Open has been
less than stellar in recent years (Jelena's
best showing being in 1999 when she reached
the third round), Dokic came out swinging, literally,
and won 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. For Dokic it was an emotional
match considering her tumultuous past and the
fact that she is once again representing Australia.
Paszek played smarter, with 28 unforced errors
to Jelena Dokic's 49, but she wasn't able to
serve up an ace and clocked out with 7 double
faults. Also, Tamira Paszek struggled on break
point conversions and only made 4 of her 15
chances. On paper the match was close, with
Jelena Dokic winning 88 points and Paszek winning
82, but it came down to who wanted it more and
this time Dokic's emotions actually helped her.
I'm not the biggest fan of emotion being a factor
in a win but in Jelena's case she deserved this
one more than any other player. Next up for
Dokic is Russian Anna Chakvetadze who is seeded
17th. Let's hope she can get her emotions under
control and play with smarts and not sentiment.
Roger Federer (2) vs. Andreas Seppi
 This
was another brilliant and dominating display
from the great Fedster himself. Roger Federer
finally looked like he was back in winning form,
as he took out the Italian Andreas Seppi in
three sets. Although Federer ran away with the
first set 6-1, the second went to a tiebreak
and the third was a hard fought 7-5. Two amazing
returns from Federer after he scrambled back
to the baseline to catch Seppi's lobs, showed
that he was definitely hungry for more than
just a victory. After faltering against Novak
Djokovic in the semi-finals last year, Roger
Federer is out to prove that he still has quite
the career ahead of him, as he rides the wave
of success after his Slam win in Flushing Meadows,
NY at the 2008 U.S. Open. Andreas Seppi also
played some fantastic tennis, going point-for-point
with Federer. Against almost any other opponent,
it would have been enough for a win. But once
again Federer showed why he has 13 Slam titles
under his belt as he was able to win the tiebreaker
and the points that counted most.
Worst of Day 1:
Daniela Hantuchova (19) vs. Casey Dellacqua
 Say
what you will about the tenacious Australian,
Casey Dellacqua, but she did not deserve to
win this match. Dellacqua put up a brilliant
fight in the second set and came back from a
2-0 deficit to make it 5-4, but lost the match
not only on her 5 double-faults but also on
her 48 unforced errors. Neither Hantuchova nor
Dellacqua played particularly well throughout
the entire match, although Dellacqua's power
forehand kept her in the match longer than expected.
Daniela Hantuchova won the first set, which
lasted a little more than an hour, in the tiebreak
13-11. Casey Dellacqua squandered four set points,
lost the first set, and was never able to fully
recover. Mentally, on this day, Dellacqua wasn't
tough enough, as both players not only battled
each other but their nerves as well. This is
a disappointing end to Casey Dellacqua's stint
at the Australian Open considering her dream
run last year all the way into the 4th round
after she took out Amelie Mauresmo in surprising
fashion. As for Hantuchova, she needs to sharpen
her mental game if she hopes to equal her success
from last year where she made the semi-final.
Hopefully the nerves are out of Hantuchova's
system and she can regain some positive momentum
when she takes on Mathilde Johansson from France.
Evgeny Korolev vs. Carlos Moya
Carlos Moya's disastrous run at the Australian
Open continued as he lost in three straight
sets to an unseeded opponent. Everything about
Carlos Moya's game was off, from his footwork
to his serve. Moya racked up 35 unforced errors,
28 winners, and was only able to win 71 points
compared to Korolev's 102 points. Moya never
did get into in the match and struggled to even
record a point until the 4th game of the 1st
set. The veteran Spaniard looked more like he
was ready to retire, as Korolev spread his shots
all around the court, making Moya scramble as
he desperately tried to for winners. It may
soon be time for Carlos Moya to hang up his
racket and bow out with some grace and memories
of better times. The win is a confidence boost
for Korolev who is going to need more than that
when he faces Roger Federer in his next match.
Overall, Day 1 at the Australian Open saw a number of highs and lows as the veterans took on the rookies and players battled the elements as well as each other. 97F degree weather loomed over the matches as several players succumbed to the heat, which made for erratic serves and player fatigue. Long matches, like that of Gilles Muller who ousted Feliciano Lopez after more than four hours, will be difficult for and could cause some to retire early. Still, despite a few surprise losses, the top seeds made it through to the second round as expected.
The second half of the Aussie draw will see fan favourites like Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams take to the court. Nadal looks to finally win this Slam and Serena hopes to regain her 2007 title form where she beat Maria Sharapova in the final. Without Sharapova in the mix, the task is undeniably easier for Serena who is heavily favoured to win. It's too bad the same can't be said for Rafael Nadal who faces an increasingly crowded field in the top of the men's draw. One thing is for sure though, if Day 1 can provide this much excitement then the rest of the Australian Open is sure to follow suit.
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