Australian Open: Aryna Sabalenka makes winning start as Hady Habib makes history for Lebanon in Melbourne | Tennis News

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka prolonged her Australian Open profitable streak to fifteen matches on a rain-soaked opening day at Melbourne Park.

Lower than an hour of play was attainable on the surface courts earlier than an enormous thunderstorm hit Melbourne Park, sending spectators operating for canopy and inflicting a delay of greater than six hours.

The matches continued as scheduled on the three lined courts, and Sabalenka opened the night time session on Rod Laver Enviornment with a 6-3 6-2 victory over former US Open champion Sloane Stephens.

Whereas it was a troublesome draw on paper, Stephens has slipped to 81 within the rankings and, barring a mini revival from the American when she received three video games in a row after shedding the primary 4, this was clean crusing for Sabalenka, who received her first main championship at Melbourne Park in 2023, then added one other final January, earlier than elevating her complete to 3 Slam trophies on the US Open in September.

The final girl to win the Australian Open three years in a row was Martina Hingis from 1997 to 1999.

“I’m tremendous pleased to be again,” Sabalenka mentioned. “I really like this place.”

She added: “It was a troublesome match, at all times robust matches in opposition to her. Not that I performed my greatest in all probability however I used to be glad I used to be in a position to shut this match in straight units.”

The participant Sabalenka beat within the remaining final 12 months, fifth seed Qinwen Zheng, additionally safely reached spherical two.

The 22-year-old from China, who went on to win Olympic gold in Paris, didn’t have issues all her personal method in opposition to Romanian qualifier Anca Todoni however battled to a 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 victory.

Zheng seemed in full management serving for the set at 5-4 and main 40-0 just for Todoni to win 5 factors in a row.

The Romanian then held three set factors with Zheng serving at 5-6 however couldn’t take any of them and issues have been comfy for the fifth seed thereafter.

“The primary match is at all times not straightforward,” mentioned Zheng in her on-court interview. “She’s enjoying actually good however I used to be doing a bit silly errors at 5-4 40-0, I do not know what occurred there.”

Teenager Mirra Andreeva may very well be an element come the latter levels of the event and he or she started strongly with a 6-3 6-3 victory over Marie Bouzkova.

However twenty ninth seed Linda Noskova, who upset Iga Swiatek on her approach to the quarter-finals final 12 months, fell to a 5-7 6-3 6-4 loss in opposition to gifted Dane Clara Tauson.

Brit Kartal falls quick on Australian Open debut

Sonay Kartal’s comeback fell quick as her Melbourne debut resulted in defeat to Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.

British No 3 Kartal rose quickly up the rankings through the second half of final season, profitable a primary WTA Tour title in Tunisia and breaking into the highest 100.

That earned her a spot in the principle attract Melbourne, and he or she was the one British participant in motion on a rain-soaked opening day, with the competition lastly getting beneath method three and a half hours after its scheduled slot.

Kartal was blown away within the opening set however recovered from 3-0 down within the second set to pressure a tie-break earlier than shedding out 6-1 7-6 (7-5).

Within the second recreation, each gamers thought a Bouzas Maneiro serve had been referred to as out, solely to ultimately realise that the decision had come from a neighbouring court docket.

With line calls now automated and no line judges on the court docket, it may be tough for gamers to find out the place the decision has come from.

“All of them sound the identical,” mentioned Kartal. “I used to be like, ‘God’. I feel on ours the sound of his voice was male, so I used to be simply listening out for the male voice as a substitute of the feminine voice.”

She added: “I will bounce again from this. I’ve acquired loads extra probabilities and good matches which can be arising fairly quickly.”

Kartal was the one British participant in motion on the opening day, with Jack Draper, Jacob Fearnley and Jodie Burrage all resulting from start their campaigns on Monday.

Habib places Lebanon on the map

Lebanese qualifier Hady Habib broke new floor for the strife-torn nation as he beat China’s Bu Yunchaokete 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 7-6 (8-6).

The world No 219 turned his nation’s first participant to win a males’s singles most important draw match at a Grand Slam within the skilled period and soaked up wild cheers from a rowdy crowd packing the small terraces on Melbourne Park’s Courtroom 13.

With followers chanting his title, the Texas-born 26-year-old raised his racket on the crowd and held up a Lebanese flag after claiming the decisive tie-break.

Greater than one million individuals in Lebanon have been displaced following Israel’s invasion of the nation in October after simmering hostilities for a 12 months ignited by the struggle in Gaza. A ceasefire was agreed in late November however the future stays unsure.

“That is in all probability top-of-the-line days of my profession, truthfully. It is such an unbelievable feeling to get this win – not just for myself however for Lebanon and Lebanese tennis,” mentioned Habib. “It is an enormous win, particularly what we have been going by means of as a rustic. It is simply good to get this win for Lebanon and for the individuals.”

“I simply needed to symbolize the nation that I’ve lived in, and been part of the tennis tradition. It is a choice I made at a younger age,” he mentioned. “Simply offers me the motivation to maintain going. To play for a small nation is one thing particular for me.”

He represented Lebanon on the Paris Olympics and have become the nation’s first participant to win an occasion on the second-tier ATP Challenger Tour in Chile final 12 months.

Habib will tackle 14th seed Ugo Humbert within the second spherical on Wednesday.

Ruud survives scare

Within the males’s singles, sixth seed Casper Ruud survived a significant scare to keep away from a primary opening-round loss at a Grand Slam since Wimbledon 4 years in the past.

The Norwegian was twice pegged again by Spaniard Jaume Munar however proved too robust within the deciding set to assert a 6-3 1-6 7-5 2-6 6-1 victory.

Ruud introduced his engagement to Maria Galligani in November and his fiancee was watching on.

When the Norwegian was requested if he was extra nervous whereas enjoying Rafael Nadal within the French Open remaining or asking his girlfriend to marry him, he visibly tensed up, stuttering in his on-court interview at Rod Laver Enviornment.

“The heartbeat acquired up there while you’re about to go down in your knees, it was an amazing second. I am nervous now while you ask me about it,” a smiling Ruud mentioned.

“I will always remember enjoying Rafa in a Slam remaining, however for positive I will additionally always remember taking place on my knee to Maria. It was a good looking second, I feel it was a much bigger second.

“There’s a number of different younger guys [in the locker room] which have been in relationships for a very long time, so I am sort of teasing them. I hope for his or her girlfriends that they step up sooner or later!”

Additionally prevailing in a fifth was Japanese veteran Kei Nishikori, who got here from two units all the way down to beat Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro 4-6 6-7 (7-4) 7-5 6-2 6-3 for simply his second Grand Slam victory since 2021.

The 35-year-old former US Open finalist has been dogged by accidents lately however, after saving two match factors within the third, he prolonged his five-set document to an excellent 29 wins from 37 matches, coming by means of in 4 hours and 6 minutes.

Nishikori has fairly the popularity for profitable in matches that go the gap, and he mentioned: “Even after the match, all people, a few gamers, was joking to me, ‘one other 5 units’.

“It is good to have that document as a result of I at all times have good confidence, and gamers know that I’ve a very good document. It is good stress for them if I’ve that.”

Second seed Alexander Zverev barely wanted to get out of third gear because the German cruised previous Frenchman Lucas Pouille 6-4 6-4 6-4.

Zverev claimed his twenty sixth win, equalling Tommy Haas (26) for the second-most of any German on the occasion within the Open Period, behind solely Boris Becker (29).

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