Australian Open 2019, Day 2 Round-up: Djokovic and Tsonga win, Sock and Jarry crash out
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic sailed smoothly into the second round by defeating American qualifier Mitchell Krueger while Germany’s Alexander Zverev had a comfortable outing against Slovenia’s Aljaz Bedene.
Austria’s Dominic Thiem had to fight hard before registering a five-set victory over France’s Benoit Paire. Japan’s Nishikori also encountered a five-setter against Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak before the latter retired in the fifth set trailing 3-0.
Here's a look at the other significant results from Day 2 of the 2019 Australian Open:
Court 5 Round 1:
Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic provided the upset of the day when he got the better of Italy’s Marco Cecchinato in a thrilling encounter after losing the first two sets. Krajinovic pumped in 20 aces and won 63 of his 77 points on the first serve.
After trading breaks in the first set, Krajinovic lost his serve in the 10th game to lose the first set 4-6. Cecchinato pummeled the Serb in the second set, winning all his three service games to register a bagel.
But Krajinovic turned the match on its heels by breaking the Italian thrice to win the third set 6-1. With an early break in the fourth set, Cecchinato was serving for the match on 5-4. Krajinovic though had other ideas as he broke Italian to force the set into a tie-break. He saved a match point to win the fourth set and then broke the Italian‘s first service game of the fifth set before clinching the match 6-4 with two aces.
Russia’s Evgeny Donskoy awaits Krajinovic in the second round.
Filip Krajinovic (92) (SRB) defeats Marco Cecchinato (18) (ITA) 4-6, 0-6, 6-1, 7-6 (10-8), 6-4.
Court 7 Round 1:
France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, with 68% career wins, gained a wild card to take part in the Australian Open. He did not let down the organizers as he made quick work of World No. 40 Martin Klizan of Slovakia to set a clash against Djokovic in the second round.
Tsonga pumped in 23 aces and 53 winners while registering an incredible 93% points won on his first serve. His serve seemed was his main weapon, as he recorded one at 135mph.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (177) (FRA) defeats Martin Klizan (40) (SVK) 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5).
Court 13 Round 1:
The host country’s Alexei Popyrin went all out against Germany’s Mischa Zverev, notching up 60 winners with 16 aces to register his first victory in a Grand Slam event.
Popyrin broke Zverev‘s serve in the crucial 12th game to win the first set 7-5, and took the second after a thrilling tie-break.
With Popyrin breaking the German in the fifth game, he went on to claim the third set 6-4 and with it the match. He will face Dominic Thiem of Austria in the second round.
Alexei Popyrin (149) (AUS) defeats Mischa Zverev (68) (GER) 7-5, 7-6 (9-7), 6-4.
Court 7 Round 1:
Australia’s Alex Bolt entered the second round of a Grand Slam event for the first time after getting past America’s Jack Sock in four sets. Bolt registered 56 winners including 22 aces, winning 83% of his points on the first serve.
After losing the first set 4-6, Bolt enjoyed 13 break point opportunities throughout the match and converted six of them to win the next three sets and clinch the match. He will now face France’s Gilles Simon in the second round.
Alex Bolt (159) (AUS) defeats Jack Sock (105) (USA) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
Court 15 Round 1:
Leonardo Mayer dropped one more set than he did in his first-round match at the 2018 Australian Open against Chile’s Nicolas Jarry to get past him and into the second round. He earned a match-up against Italy’s Fognini in the second round with this win.
Though Mayer produced 37 winners to that of Jarry‘s 50, he equally committed fewer unforced errors than his opponent.
The Argentine took the first two sets in tie-breaks but lost the third after making two double-faults to lose the ninth game. He came back strongly to win the eighth service game in the fourth set and held at love to seal the tie.
Leonardo Mayer (54) (ARG) defeats Nicolas Jarry (43) (CHI) 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-3.
Court 5 Round 1:
Ilya Ivashka recorded 12 aces and dominated the match with 41 winners as he rolled past 34-year-old Malek Jaziri of Tunisia in his first-round match.
Jaziri started well, breaking the Belarussian in the fifth game of the first set to take it 6-4. Both players then traded break points before Ivashka took the second set after a tense tie-break.
Ivashka broke the Tunisian’s serve four times in the third set to win it 6-1. Jaziri then lost four games on the trot in the fourth set before deciding to withdraw because of injury.
Ivashka will face Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta in the second round.
Ilya Ivashka (94) (BLR) defeats Malek Jaziri (42) (TUN) 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1, 4-0 retired.