On the first day of the Australian Open, seven seeded players were eliminated in the women’s singles draw. However, the defending champions in both the men’s and women’s draws advanced. On day two, the remainder of the first-round matches were played. 

Venus Eliminated

Venus Williams was eliminated in the first round of Auckland by Daria Kasatkina and entered Melbourne with little match play this season. Additionally, it appeared that her movement was hampered during the match on Tuesday. It was an unfortunate combination that led to a 6-4 6-2 loss to Johanna Konta of Great Britain.

In the first set, Williams uncharacteristically sprayed a number of unforced errors and found herself down two breaks. And, although she fought to get back, she could not equal the set. The situation became worse in the second set as she quickly dropped the first five games, and despite a late break, she could not overcome the deficit.

Williams was playing with her left thigh wrapped and clearly lacked fluid movement. However, it was not immediately known as to whether she was suffering from an injury. Meanwhile, Konta displayed solid, crisp strokes for the majority of the match. With the victory, the Brit advances past the first round of the Australian Open for the first time in her career.

Murray Cruises to Second Round

Second-seeded Andy Murray began his play at Melbourne against upstart teen Alexander Zverev of Germany. It was an easy day at the office for the four-time Australian Open finalist, who cruised to a 6-1 6-2 6-3 win.

Zverev and Murray often practice together, but on this day it was a case of the veteran schooling the youngster. Murray took full advantage of errors that often come with inexperience. Zverev showed some skills that could carry him nicely in the future, but it was the steady Murray who would dissect the 18-year-old’s game.

Unlike a number of competitors who have played in the first round, Murray was sharp and on point throughout the match. Early on, he appears poised to advance deep into the fortnight.

Keys Overcomes Slow Start, Advances

It was a year ago when Madison Keys took her first step deep into a major. She would advance to the semifinals at the 2015 Australian Open, drawing a lot of attention from the tennis world. However, the remainder of the year was a struggle, with injuries and inconsistent play.  But she would return to a place of comfort on Tuesday and defeat Zarina Diyas 7-6 6-1.

Keys appeared tight in the first set, when she misfired on a number of groundstrokes, leading to 33 unforced errors. But she was able to fight back and capitalize on some key Diyas errors to force a tiebreak. After winning the opening-set tiebreak, Keys settled down in the second set. Playing with confidence, she would find winners off her big groundstrokes and close out the match.

Keys played no Australian Open warmup tournaments, and the rust was evident. Nevertheless, she found her way and advanced into the second round.