Australian Open tennis Day 1 live coverage: Kyrgios goes boom as seeds fall
Nick Kyrgios, John Millman and Daria Gavrilova have joined Matthew Ebden as day one winners, while several seeds tumbled at Melbourne Park.
Thanks for joining our live coverage of Day 1 of the Australian Open, 2018’s first tennis grand slam. It was a day where seeds tumled and Aussies reigned as American tennis endured a nightmare.
Key results
• Matt Ebden is the first local into round two
• Venus Williams, last year’s runner-up here, has been sent packing
• US Open champion Sloane Stephens is also out
• Reacton to Bernard Tomic’s qualifying failure has dominated the day
• Fiery American CoCo Vandeweghe has gone bananas in a bizarre incident
10.45pm: Measuring the carnage
If there was an overriding theme on day one of the Open it was not perhaps how well Nick Kyrgios, Rafael Nadal, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Daria Gavrilova played but trather the trend of top names being bundled out early.
The biggest of those names to go was Venus Williams who was beaten by the very in-form Belinda Bencic. That was less of a shcokc though - the match was always going to be tough but perhaps the highlight was Bencic’s pure hitting or the lowlight the number of unforced errors Williams made it an at times frustrating performance.
If that match was the barnburner then the upset of the day belonged to Australian journeyman Matthew Ebden, who pulled off the biggest win of his rollercoaster career by upending 16th seed John Isner.
Sloane Stephens has now lost eight matches after winning the US Open too - that’s one hell of a losing streak and it was not a day to be American at the Open. Of the 14 Americans to take the court only three won: Nicole Gibbs in the women’s and in the men’s Ryan Harrison and qualifier Mackenzie McDonald. Gone are Jack Sock, Williams, Isner, Coco Vandeweghe among others.
THE SEEDS WHO FELL
MEN’S
Matthew Ebden (AUS) def 16 John Isner (USA) 6-4 3-6 6-3 6-3
Kyle Edmund (GBR) def 11 Kevin Anderson (RSA) 6-7 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-4
Ruben Bemelmans (BEL) def 18 Lucas Pouille (FRA) 6-4 6-4 6-7 7-6
Yoshi Nishioka (JPN) def 27 Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 6-3 2-6 6-0 1-6 6-2
Yuchi Sugita (JPN) def 8 Jack Sock (USA) 6-1 7-6 5-7 6-3
WOMEN’S
Belinda Bencic (SUI) def 5 Venus Williams (USA) 6-3 7-5
Irina Begu (ROU) def 31 Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) 3-6 6-4 8-6
Shuai Zhang (CHN) def 13 Sloane Stephens (USA) 2-6 7-6 6-2
Marta Kostyuk (UKR) def 25 Peng Shuai (CHN) 6-2 6-2
Kaia Kanepi (EST) def 24 Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) 6-2 6-2
Timea babos (HUN) def 10 Coco Vandeweghe (USA) 7-6 6-2
10.30pm: How the Aussies fared on day one
John Millman (AUS) def Borna Coric (CRO) 7-5 6-4 6-1
Matthew Ebden (AUS) def 16 John Isner (USA) 6-4 3-6 6-3 6-3
17 Nick Kyrgios (AUS) def Rogerio Dytra Silva 6-1 6-2 6-4
Jordan Kubler (AUS) lost to 10 Pablo Carreno-Busta (ESP) 7-5 4-6 7-5 6-1
Alex Bolt (AUS) lost to Viktor Troicki (SRB) 6-7 (7-2) 4-6 6-2 6-3 6-4
23 Daria Gavrilova (AUS) def Irina Falconi (USA) 6-1 6-1
Olivia Rogowska (AUS) def Jaimee Fourlis (AUS) 6-3 6-7 6-2
Sam Stosur (AUS) lost to Monica Puig (PRT) 4-6 7-6 6-4
10.20pm: Dashing through the opener
Adding to her impressive form in Sydney Daria Gavrilova has breezed into the second round with a 6-1 6-1 rout of American veteran Irina Falconi.
Gavrilova showed some nerves in the opening game of the match but from there put on a tennis clinic, hitting 23 winners to 5.
Next for the Australian is Belgian player Elise Mertens, who beat Gavrilova 2-6 6-4 6-2 at the Hopman Cup just over a fortnight ago.
10pm: Lucas Pouille the next seed to go
The French No.2 is gone from the tournament in the first round. Adding his name to an ever-growing list of top stars to be turfed on day one of the Open.
The man who beat him is Belgian journeyman Ruben Bemelmans. The 118th player in the world qualified for the tournament before beating the mercurial Frenchman 6-4 6-4 6-7 (7-4) 7-6 (8-6).
Pouille had a chance to level things at two sets apiece but got himself into trouble trying to run around a backhand and from there Bemelmans took his chance as Pouille missed another forehand.
9.26pm: Kyrgios aiming high
“I was very nervous... to come out here first match of the Australian Open and I obviously want to play well for you guys,” Kyrgios told Roger Rasheed after the match.
“I don’t think that I played as well as I was playing in Brisbane right now. Hopefully I can continue to improve and find my feet out here.”
Kyrgios then went on to elaborate on his goals for the week and it’s final fournor better as he seeks a maiden slam.
“On this court a couple of years ago I made a quarter-final, so I just hope to emulate that and go a bit further.”
8.53pm: Rafa rolls on
Any doubts about Rafael Nadal’s body have been dispelled for another day after the top seed took just over 90 minutes to smash Victor Estrella Burgos 6-1 6-1 6-1.
His win came just after women’s second seed Caroline Wozniacki advanced with a regulation 6-2 6-3 opening win over Romania’s Mihaela Buzarnescu.
8.40pm: Nick, Nick boom - Controlled Kyrgios cruises
Cool, calm and collected. Is it a new Nick Kyrgios we are seeing this Australian summer?
The Australian star took little time to brush aside Brazil’s Rogerio Dutra Silva in a 6-1 6-2 6-4 demoliton that was buesiness-like in its sheer efficiency.
Kyrgios was rarely troubled by the Brazilian world No.101 which was expected but for the second week in a row the Aussie entertainer displayed a level head as he moved through the gears to hit 16 aces and 33 winners in a one-sided display.
His likely fourth round opponent Grigor Dimitrov was also impressive in a 6-3 6-2 6-1 over qualifier Deniis Novak.
Viktor Troicki is Kyrgios’s opponent in the second round after he beat Australian wildcard Alex Bolt in five sets, coming back from two sets to love down.
8.10pm: Millmania runs wild in Melbourne
John Millman has joined fellow Aussie Matthew Ebden in the second round after a 7-5 6-4 6-1 rout of Croatian 21-year-old Borna Coric.
After two tight opening sets Millman broke Coric’s spirit to race through the third set.
In a display of quality serving for someone who isn’t on Kyrgios levels when it comes to power, Millman did well to send down 10 aces and closed out the match with a backhand winner that clipped the back of the baseline.
The win puts Millman into the second round of his home slam for just the second time in his career and first since he made the third round in 2016.
Next up for the Brisbane boy is 28th seed Damir Dzumur, who had to come from two sets to love down to beat Italian journeyman Paolo Lorenzi in almost four hours.
7.57pm: #NKRacing Rafa for quick wins
In the blink of an eye Kyrgios makes it two sets to love and is now up 6-1 6-2. The ace and winner counts hve hit 12 and 22 respectively for the Australian star. Across on Rod Laver Arena Rafael Nadal is charging like the bull he is and leads Victor Estrella Burgos 6-1 4-0 after just 45 minutes.
7.35pm: The aceman cometh
Nick Kyrgios has ripped through the opening set of his first round match with Brazil’s Rogerio Dutra Silva. Kyrgios took just 27 minutes to rip through the opening set 6-1, hitting seven aces and 12 winners in what thus far has been an impressive display.
🇦🇺 @NickKyrgios breaks! He leads 3-1 in the 1st set.
— #7TENNIS 🎾 (@7tennis) January 15, 2018
LIVE on the #7Tennis app: https://t.co/rHeId6I4CQ pic.twitter.com/S4RkM9DZT4
7.17pm: Sock it to him
Add America’s Jack Sock to the list of seeds to tumble on day one of the Australian Open as America’s horror day continues.
Sock, the world No.8 was humbled 6-1 7-6 (7-4) 5-7 6-3 by Japan’s world No.41 Yuichi Sugita in two and a half hours.
Sock is now the highest profile men’s seed to lose on the opening day. He joins 16 seed and coutryman John Isner, who lost to Australia’s Matt Ebden, South African 11th seed Kevin Anderson and German 27th seed Philipp Kohlschriber in bowing out.
Awaiting Sugita in the second round is another big server in Croatian veteran Ivo Karlovic.
As for America he and Isner join women’s stars Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens and Coco Vandeweghe in exiting the tournament as quickly as some might have wished Donald Trump would have exited the role of US President.
7.12pm: Cilic cruises through big-serving battle
On his day Marin Cilic can be a danger to any player in the world and the 2014 US Open chanp and 2017 Wimbledon finalist got off to a winning start Down Under with a 6-2 6-2 4-6 7-6 (7-5) win over Canadian qualifier Vasek Pospisil. Cilic pounded down 20 aces in the match.
6.55pm: Millman goes ahead of Croatian Coric
On a day where the Aussie men have enjoyed plenty of success John Millman has taken the opening set 7-5 in his match with Croatian youngster Borna Coric. It’s been a tight tussle thus far for the Australian, full of long baseline rallies.
6.30pm: Stosur suffers another early Aus Open loss
Sam Stosur’s miserable run of outs at her home grand slam has stretched on, making it three straight years of first round exits at Melbourne Park.
In her long career Stosur has bever made it past the fourth round in her home slam and has now suffered six first round losses in 16 attempts.
Stosur took the first set against Puerto Rico’s Olympic champion Monica Puig and held a match point in the second set but went into her shell and played safe, allowing Puig to stave off defeat.
It wasn’t quite a choke but Stosur had control before it would appear the mental demons that so often grab hold of her when playing at home hit yet again.
Puig then took the second set in a tiebreak before breaking Stosur against the run of play to take a 4-3 lead in the decide, which she never looked back from to take out the match 4-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-4.
Puig will next face Estonian veteran Kaia Kanepi in the second round.
5.55pm: Stosur forced into a decider
Monica Puig has fought back from a break down and saved a match point to take her first-round match against Sam Stosur into a third set.
Stosur was in control at 4-2 in the second but Puig broke back and then sent the set to a tiebreak, which she won 8-6 after the Australian sent a forehand over the baseline.
The final set promises to be a test of nerve for Stosur after she was unable to close out the match at 6-5 up in the tiebreak.
5.15pm: Dimitrov dominates
Bulgaria’s world No.3 Grigor Dimitrov breezed through his opening round in straight sets.
Chasing his first Grand Slam title, he was too strong for Austrian qualifier Dennis Novak, winning 6-3 6-2 6-1 in 98 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
Dimitrov, in Rafael Nadal’s top half of the draw, broke Novak’s service six times and only had two break points on his own serve.
It was a smooth opening performance by a man who has never been beyond the semi-finals of a grand slam.
“I love playing on this court, it was tricky weather with a lot of wind in the warm-up and I tried to be compact and focused,” Dimitrov said.
“It’s always a dream of mine to win a Slam, this is the next step, and the only thing I can do is to give 100 per cent in each match.”
4.45pm: Strong start for Stosur
Australia’s Sam Stosur has made a solid start to her first-round match against Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig. Stosur took the first set 6-4 after breaking Puig’s serve in the fifth game.
She backed that up with a powerful serving performance, finding the mark with 88 per cent of first serves and winning 86 per cent of those points.
Stosur is looking to advance beyond the fourth round of this tournament for the first time in her career.
The 33-year-old is a major winner but has never been able to put it together on home soil.
4.20pm: Another one bites the dust
Britain’s Kyle Edmund has knocked out US Open finalist Kevin Anderson in a five-set thriller.
The 49th-ranked Edmund, who lost to 11th seeded Anderson in five sets in the third round at last year’s French Open, toughed out a 6-7 (7-4) 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-4 win in almost four hours.
It is only the second time he has reached the second round in Melbourne, while South African Anderson, who lost the 2017 Flushing Meadows final to Rafael Nadal, had made the round of 16 in Australia three times.
The victory set Edmund up with a second round encounter with Uzbek journeyman Denis Istomin.
Edmund is the only British man in the main draw after five-times finalist Andy Murray pulled out with a hip injury.
4.05pm: Aussie breakthrough
Matt Ebden has pulled off the biggest win of his grand slam career, upsetting 16th seed John Isner.
Ebden stunned the American 6-4 3-6 6-3 6-3 to be the first Australian through to the second round at Melbourne Park.
Australia’s No.2-ranked men’s player behind Nick Kyrgios, Ebden had never previously beaten a top-20 player in a grand slam.
He said after two recent losses to Isner he needed to stay positive. “He is such a great player and so tough to beat so I had to stay composed and find a bit of extra positivity and energy and I think I got that from the crowd, so thank you,” Ebden said.
“I am working hard and trying my best and ... it’s nice to get some rewards. “I’ve been playing better the last six to a months, I want to keep it going.” The 30-year-old has played some of his best tennis in the twilight of his career, also collecting the scalp of world No.6 Marin Cilic last week at Kooyong.
He has climbed to world No.78 after starting 2017 ranked 699 in the world following a frustrating run with injury.
Edben will next face Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov on Wednesday.
3.55pm: CoCo pops
Tenth seed and 2017 semi-finalist CoCo Vandeweghe has been eliminated on a horror day for American women.
Vandeweghe, who also made the last four at the US Open in 2017, was knocked out by Hungary’s Timea Babos 7-6 (7-4) 6-2.
Hungarian world number 51 Babos took just an hour an 46 minutes to oust a tetchy Vandeweghe, who was hit by a code violation for time wasting after complaining to the umpire about a lack of bananas on the Hisense Arena court.
“I’m waiting for the bananas,” she told chair umpire Fergus Murphy when he asked why she wasn’t ready to play after the first set. “Why should I feel uncomfortable because the court is ill-prepared?”
Coached by former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash, the American committed 28 unforced errors.
3.35pm: No Williams factor
For the first time since 1997 there will be no Williams sister in the second round at Melbourne Park after the defeat of Venus and Serena pulling out following the birth of her daughter.
The last time it happened Steffi Graf was world number one and Bencic was still two months away from being born.
Bencic, who lost to Serena in straights sets at the same stage last year, said when she saw the draw she was prepared for another tough opener.
“I would like to have played someone easier,” she admitted. “When I was a little girl watching on TV I would never imagine I would play them.” There was no sign of the drama to come until the seventh game when former world number seven Bencic, in form again after winning the Hopman Cup warm-up team event in Perth alongside Roger Federer, broke the Williams serve.
She then had to hold off an immediate fightback from the veteran American, saving five break points in an attritional game before a passing rain shower caused a 20-minute delay as the roof on Rod Laver Arena was closed.
They resumed with Bencic serving at deuce and the Swiss then crucially reeled off the next two points for 5-3 before breaking Williams again to take the opener 6-3.
Williams departed for a bathroom break and, seemingly refreshed, struck back at the start of the second, breaking Bencic’s opening service game.
But the Swiss was not to be denied and put the pressure back on the Williams serve and levelled on her third break point.
Bencic, who made her WTA Tour debut as a 14-year-old against Williams in Luxembourg in 2012, had never beaten the seven-time Grand Slam winner in four previous meetings.
And deep into the second set Williams was coming under constant pressure on her serve and, serving at 3-4 and 15-40, needing all her experience to reel off four points in row to level again.
But Bencic was not to be denied, coming from 0-30 on the Williams serve at 6-5 with the help of a ferocious backhand winner to get to match point and secured a famous victory.
3.20pm: Kubler can’t
US Open semi-finalist Pablo Carreno-Busta has overcome Australian Jason Kubler in four tough sets in his first round match at the Australian Open.
The Spanish 10th seed finished strongly after wildcard Kubler had taken the second set to win 7-5 4-6 7-5 6-1 in three-and-a-half hours.
Carreno-Busta, who won the lead-in Kooyong Classic exhibition event last week, will face either French veteran Gille Simon or Romanian Marius Copil in the second round.
The Spaniard broke Kubler’s serve nine times and won more of the points when rallies went nine shots or more.
Carreno-Busta has not gone beyond the third round at the Australian Open but last year reached the last four at the US Open where he was beaten by Kevin Anderson.
2.45pm: Venus eclipsed
Venus Williams, last year’s runner-up and the tournament fifth seed, has been sent packing as the upsets continue in the women’s draw.
Williams has been beaten 6-3 7-5 by Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic, ranked 78th in the world.
The 20-year-old got the better of the seven-time grand slam champion in just under two hours on Rod Laver Arena
She joins early seeded casualties Sloane Stephens (13), Dominika Cibulkova (24) and Ekaterina Makarova (31).
1.55pm: China’s crowd favourite
Zhang Shuai has fond memories of this tournament after a surprise run to the quarter-finals after qualifying two years ago.
The 34th-ranked player has signalled a warning to the rest of the field after her upset 2-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 win over Sloane Stephens.
“She’s a tough player,” said Zhang after her victory on Margaret Court Arena. “I’m so happy to play on this court and play a great player. I know how hard I have worked so I’m ready for every match, every player.”
She will face either of the unseeded pair Denisa Allertova of the Czech Republic or France’s Pauline Parmentier in the second round.
1.35pm: Early results
The men’s draw has its first winner, after the Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov beat Andreas Haider-Maurer 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 6-4.
On the women’s side, seventh seed Jelena Ostapenko breezed past Francesca Schiavone 6-1 6-4; 12th seed Julia Goerges accounted for Sofia Kenin (USA) 6-4 6-4; and 19th seed Magdalena Rybarikova has beaten Taylor Townsend (USA) 6-0 7-5.
1.20pm: US Open champion out
The first upset of the tournament is in the books, with 13th seed Sloane Stephens crashing out in three sets. The US Open champion lost to China’s Zhang Shuai 2-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-2. Stephens, 24, has had a tough time of it since her breakthrough grand slam win in September, losing every match she has played.
After withdrawing from the Brisbane International due to a persistent knee problem, Stephens was routed 6-3 6-0 by World No.100 Camila Giorgi in the first round of the Sydney International.
It was her seventh consecutive defeat since beating Madison Keys by the same scoreline in the US Open final at Flushing Meadows.
Nicole Jeffery 1.10pm: Tomic needs a safety net
Tennis Australia has a duty of care with Bernard Tomic, and it needs to make sure lessons are learned from the disastrous way Jelena Dokic was let down amid serious personal issues. Read here
12.50pm: French Open champ advances
French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko survived a second-set scare from corset-wearing Italian veteran Francesca Schiavone to get her Australian Open campaign off to winning start on Monday.
World number seven Ostapenko raced through the first set on Rod Laver Arena against the 2010 Roland Garros winner 6-1.
But she found herself 4-1 down in the second to the world number 93 who was bizarrely wearing a weightlifter-style back brace over her tennis top.
The big-hitting Latvian soon found her range again and hit back with two breaks of the Schiavone serve, the second achieved with a trademark forehand winner.
Ostapenko then served out with no further alarms to take the match 6-1, 6-4 in one hour and 14 minutes.
“Second set I was missing a little bit but I managed to get through,” said Ostapenko, who was recording her maiden match victory of 2018 having lost in the first rounds at both the Shenzhen and Sydney warm-up events.
She will next meet China’s Duan Yingying who overcame Colombia’s Mariana Duque -Marino in straight sets.
12.30pm: Cash weighs in on Tomic
Former Grand Slam champion Pat Cash says Bernard Tomic has led “a privileged life”. “It’s a situation where (it was) too much too early as a young player,” he told Melbourne radio station 3AW today.
“He really has done nothing in his career. That’s true, and that’s kind of sad in a way.”
11.45am: Play is underway
Crowds are pouring into Melbourne Park, as you’d expect. This major has come a long way since the grasscourts of Kooyong and a time when the game’s big guns did not always fancy a trek Down Under. For the record, last year’s tournament drew a record 728,763 fans. The first week attracted more than 500,000 people through the gates for the first time. Another deep run by Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal will no doubt keep the turnstiles clicking.
11am: Some advice for Tomic
Former world No.1 and US Open champion Andy Roddick has delivered the perfect riposte to Australia’s Bernard Tomic, who won’t play at the Open after failing to advance through qualifying.
Roddick’s jab comes after Tomic casually brushed off questions about his future following a disappointing loss to a player ranked well below him.
Maybe stop for a second and think of the millions you’ve left on the table .... https://t.co/t27GA4WHyG
— andyroddick (@andyroddick) January 14, 2018
10.30am: A cool, cloudy start
Melbourne is set to serve up a cool day to open the tournament, with cloud about and some showers possible. The temperature is expected to hit a maximum of 20C today, before jumping to 38C later in the week.
9.56am: Rocket’s anniversary
On this day: In 1962 @rodlaver won his second #AusOpen, beating fellow Queenslander Roy Emerson 8-6 0-6 6-4 6-4 at White City, Sydney, to secure the first leg of his 1962 Grand Slam. #50YearsOpen pic.twitter.com/a2xWwv3vn1
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 14, 2018
Courtney Walsh 9.45am: Reality bites for Bernie?
Now entrenched in the tennis wilderness after failing to qualify for the Australian Open, it seems likely Bernard Tomic’s next public appearance will be the jungle in a questionable career move.
The one-time prodigy will be absent from his local major for the first time in a decade when play begins in Melbourne today, but it may yet prove a boon for his notoriety and bank account.
If locker room scuttlebutt is accurate, the 25-year-old will appear in a reality show in South Africa in coming weeks on the Ten Network.
Read the full story here.
Bernard #Tomic still boasts an elite serve and backhand and worked hard to qualify. But the direction his career is going is a concern. Heaven help if he gets involved in a Rumble in the Jungle.https://t.co/BnVetxx9JJ
— Courtney Walsh (@walshcee) January 14, 2018
9.10am: We miss you too, Andy Murray...
Bernard Tomic might not be too upset that he’s missed out on qualifying for the main draw ... but it’s good to see top players like Andy Murray are hurting because they’re not there.
When you wake up day one of the @AustralianOpen and remember you aren’t in the draw 😢 pic.twitter.com/g6alBOjFrq
— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) January 14, 2018
And the former world no.1 is just as impressed as we are with rising Australian star Alex de Minaur, who’s risen to a new career high of no.127 in the world following his runs in Brisbane and Sydney this month.
De Minaur has a tough first round match against Czech 19th seed Tomas Berdych on Hisense Arena tomorrow night.
I wish I was as grown up as Alex de Minaur on the tennis court â˜ºï¸ great attitude! Love watching him play🎾💪
— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) January 13, 2018
Courtney Walsh 9am: Day 1 preview
The Australian Open begins today with world No.1 Rafael Nadal, legendary American Venus Williams and leading local Nick Kyrgios among those in actions.
There is something for everyone and it will be fascinating to see what unfolds.
Roger Federer and Nadal are understandably favourites on the men’s side, while the women’s draw is wide open, with just two former champions in action.
Reigning French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko begins action on Rod Laver Arena against another Roland Garros winner in Francesca Schiavone, while Queenslander Jason Kubler kicks off things for the locals.
THE MEN
Federer deserves top billing based on his excellence last year. His only major loss came when injured in the lead in to the US Open. On hard courts he was largely impeccable and he looked in good condition in Perth during the Hopman Cup.
THE DANGER
No surprises here, but Nadal is the obvious threat. He, too, was outstanding in 2017 winning two slams and reclaiming the world’s top ranking. Curiously, given their history, Federer was dominant in the head-to-head and may have the edge again.
OTHERS
If a player is to break through, I believe there are only a few capable here — Kyrgios, David Goffin and Grigor Dimitrov, though Juan Martin del Potro is capable of winning again for the first time since the 2009 US Open.
THE WOMEN
This really is a very difficult draw to assess. Garbine Muguruza is perhaps the best player when on song, but her preparation is troubling. Angelique Kerber has been outstanding, while Simona Halep, Carolina Wozniacki and Karolina Pliskova are certainly capable of breaking through. Elise Mertens is also very capable of making a deep run here.
AUSSIES IN ACTION ON DAY 1
* JASON KUBLER vs 10-Pablo Carreno Busta (Court 8, 11am): Great to see the one-time prodigy back in an Australian Open after an awful run of knee injuries. This is not an easy task, however, against the extremely talented Spaniard.
* MATT EBDEN vs 16-John Isner (second match on Margaret Court Arena): The West Australian has been in strong form but will need to play at his peak to topple the veteran American. He is certainly capable of testing him.
* ALEX BOLT vs Victor Troicki (second match on Court 7): A tough task for the Aussie wildcard against an established, hardened professional who is a close friend of Novak Djokovic.
* JOHN MILLMAN vs Borna Coric (Show Court 3, not before 3pm): The Queenslander is playing well but will need to against the talented Croatian, who is a peer of Kyrgios. Expect plenty of long rallies in this clash.
* SAM STOSUR vs Monica Puig (third match on Margaret Court Arena): The former US Open winner plays the reigning Olympic champ in this intriguing clash. Stosur was in good spirits on Friday — hopefully her relaxed state will allow her to find her best form in Melbourne.
* 17-NICK KYRGIOS vs Rogerio Dutra Silva (HiSense Arena, not before 6.45pm): The Australian was excellent in Brisbane and is highly fancied on his return to Melbourne Park.
Australian @NickKyrgios performed well above his career metrics when successful in Brisbane. It will be interesting to see whether the increased work rate continues in the Australian Open. With help from @BrainGameTennis and Dr Machar Reid.https://t.co/T5rVkxrZsh
— Courtney Walsh (@walshcee) January 14, 2018
Additional reporting: AAP
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