The major story of Day 2 in Melbourne will be the blistering heat. In fact, this will probably be the leading story of the whole first week of the tournament. With temperatures approaching 110 degrees, all play not under the roof is being seriously affected. Matches often change from being about playing better tennis to just being able to outlast the opponent.

The story of the day that went under the radar, though, is Andy Murray’s draw opening up. Murray could definitely use some easier matches as he is still returning from his back injury. With Philipp Kohlschreiber and John Isner both bowing out due to injury, Feliciano Lopez is the only real potential challenge between Murray and the quarterfinals. Murray did not seem hampered by injury at all in his comprehensive beatdown of Go Soeda, but having an easier path to the second week never really hurts.

Tuesday’s Best:

Blaz Rola:  The NCAA standout for Ohio State made his Grand Slam debut in style, taking care of Frederico Delbonis in straight sets. Not only will this be a great kick-start for the aspiring professional (who has not yet decided to forego his senior season as a Buckeye), but he has an incredibly open draw. Rola even has a chance to reach the fourth round here, which would be huge for his ranking and get his name on the map among potential sponsors.

Nick Kyrgios: A young Aussie performing well in the first round of the Australian Open is nothing new. It feels like it happens every year. But Kyrgios is different. He showed his raw talent in beating Benjamin Becker and impressed us with his grit, coming back to finish the match off in the fourth-set tiebreak. He will be something special someday, and we are getting to watch him develop.

Rhyne Williams: I’m beginning to notice a trend in who impressed me today. Rhyne Williams is another young up-and-comer who really moved through the rankings last year, although he seems to have hit a barrier right around the edge of the top 100. With the way he played against world No. 5 Juan Martin Del Potro, though, that barrier won’t last long. Williams was fearless on his second serve and his groundstrokes, producing some amazing tennis. He was serving bombs and hit some forehands that should make even Del Potro jealous. And while he never had enough in him to break the Argentine’s massive serve more than once, he made Delpo work hard for the four-set win—something that not many players in the world can do.

Tuesday's Worst:

I will have to leave this space empty today. Nobody came out and didn’t bring their best tennis. Those who struggled were obviously struggling with the heat, not their own games. I could point out that the way Del Potro played today wouldn’t cut it against other top players, but it was clear that the extreme heat caused his lethargy, which is not his fault in the slightest. The only decision of the day to criticize is Frank Dancevic continuing to play after fainting on court. While it showed grit and determination, heat exhaustion isn’t something that anyone should toy with.

Match of the Day:

When Lleyton Hewitt fell behind two sets to love against a seeded player, Andreas Seppi, was there ever any doubt that the match would end up in this slot? Hewitt was born to play epic five-setters at Slams, especially his home one. Unfortunately for his fans, his epic matches have ended in heartbreak more often than not in recent years.

After Hewitt lost the first two sets and was broken to open the third, you might have thought that the match would be over quickly. But that’s only because you don’t know Lleyton Hewitt. He broke back immediately in the second game of the set. After a close, well-played set, Hewitt finished it off by breaking in the 12th game to take the set 7-5, and the Rod Laver Arena crowd erupted in excitement.

The fourth set went exactly the same way as the third. Lleyton was broken in the first game but broke right back. Then he broke in the 12th game, again to the delight of the RLA crowd. The crowd couldn’t explode in the fifth set, when Hewitt once again opened it by getting broken. This time, though, he couldn’t break right back. He did well to hold his own serve but couldn’t get into any of Seppi’s service games until the eighth game of the set.

A few friendly net cords and some nerves by Seppi gave Hewitt a break point, which he exploited with a massive second-serve return. But Seppi saved a match point while serving down 4-5, and then he broke Hewitt in the following game. He closed it out by holding to love to win what should remain one of the most incredible matches of the Australian Open.

The match was not only intense and exciting but involved outstanding tennis as well. The players were working their points and grueling out advantages in the blistering heat for over four hours. It was a high-quality battle that featured over 110 combined winners and sustained excellence from both sides. It will be difficult for any other match this tournament to top it—both for excitement and for quality.