Melbourne | Alcaraz storms through as AO first round is completed

World No.2 Carlos Alcaraz made his very welcome return to Melbourne for the first time in two years and didn’t disappoint in his opening match, as he swept aside the French veteran Richard Gasquet on the Rod Laver Arena.

Every set, I played better and better, and in the end, I think I played quite a good level Carlos Alcaraz

The 20-year-old Spaniard arrived in Melbourne without playing any warm-up events but despite his lack of match play, Alcaraz proved just too strong for the experienced 37-year-old Gasquet.

But to give Gasquet credit, he held his own in the first set before Alcaraz settled and ran off with the match, securing it 7-6(5) 6-1 6-2.

As the score suggests, the opening set was a tight affair which was only settled by the tiebreak and the physicality of the Alcaraz game proved too much for Gasquet.

Alcaraz had his first chance to break at 3-3, but Gasquet fought back from 15-40 to level the match.

The set went to a tie-break, which was about as close as the previous 12 games had gone. Gasquet earned a mini break on an Alcaraz double fault, but the youngster fought back with a brilliant cross-court forehand before sealing the set following a cat-and-mouse rally at the net.

Having pocketed the opening set, Alcaraz was on a roll from the opening moments of the second and in a heartbeat, established a 3-0 lead as applied pressure on the tiring Frenchman.

By now Alcaraz was very much in his stride while his opponent struggled to keep abreast as he was pushed around the court.

Within 30-minutes Alcaraz had pocketed the second set as well,

The third set followed the same pattern, with Gasquet dropping serve in the opening game following some powerful hitting from Alcaraz who looked on course to bagel Gasquet who just managed to scrape up a game by claiming the fifth and in a final flurry, with his trademark backhand got himself back to 5-2.

Carlos Alcaraz (R) sakes hands with Richard Gasquet following their match

(Photo by Shi Tang/Getty Images)

Eventually Alcaraz served it out in a five-deuce eight game with an ace – his 9th of the match – sliding wide.

Alcaraz finished the match with 53 winners to Gasquet’s 19.

“It’s always great to play here in Australia. This is the third time that I am playing here. I did not have a good run the years that I have played here, but I enjoyed it a lot and I missed it last year.

“Today I felt really good, playing here and I enjoyed in front of the crowd. I tried to get better. I think in the first set I struggled a little bit with his game and Richard was playing great as well. Every set, I played better and better, and in the end, I think I played quite a good level”, the second seeded Alcaraz said.

Alcaraz next faces Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego, who beat Britain’s No.2 and 25th seed, Daniel Evans 4-6 7-6 (8) 6-2 7-6(4).

Grigor Dimitrov deploys one of his trademark backhands

(Photo by Shi Tang/Getty Images)

Meanwhile former AO semi-finalist Grigor Dimitrov came back from a set down to beat Marton Fucsovics 4-6 6-3 7-6(1) 6-2 to get his latest Aussie campaign – his 14th – under way.

The Bulgarian made a slow start which helped the Hungarian get an early grip on the contest to take the opening set and an early break in the second but once Dimitrov found his range, he pulled himself back into the set and broke him for a second time in the sixth game to go and level the match.

It was a tight affair in the third with both players vying for the advantage, but it was only in the subsequent tiebreak that Dimitrov pulled ahead dropping just one point.

With the wind behind him, the 32-year-old world No.13 was able to assert himself, breaking in the fourth and eighth game to settle in round two. where he will face home favourite, Thanasi Kokkinakis, who battled past the fast-rising Austrian, Sebastian Ofner 7-6(1) 2-6 6-7(4) 6-1 7-6(8).

“Overall it was a good match. I think for sure I could have done a lot of things better, but it’s always tricky when you start a Grand Slam,” Dimitrov said. “I have been doing a lot of work prior to this tournament as well. I was hoping that I would have played a better first match, but it is how it is. You need to go through those matches.”

Thanasi Kokkinakis likes long matches!

(Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

He can certainly expect a long match when he takes on Kokkkinakis who took four-hours and 18-minutes to close out his first-round five-setter. The Aussie, will no doubt be best remembered for keeping Andy Murray on court last year for five sets in what was the second longest match in AO history!

Alexander Zverev shrugs off his off-court problems

(Photo by Will Murray/Getty Images)

Alexander Zverev the sixth seed, can be considered one of the AO title contenders, but he has some off court problems which could prove a hindrance for him this year.

The 26-year-old German has learnt that he is to stand trial in May, during the French Open, after he contested a fine of EUR450,000 ($A750,000) over an alleged assault of a former partner.

Whether he was distracted or not, he did drop his opening set against his German compatriot Dominic Koepfer, before striding into the second round 4-6 6-3 7-6(3) 6-3.

However the subject is the one thing journalist are keen to pursue are causing him the problems like those who feel he should not be playing until the matter is settled.

“Like who? Journalists are saying that, some, who are actually interested more in this story to write about and more about the clicks than the actual truth,” an irritated Zverev commented.

Finally in the first men’s match of the day on Rod Laver Arena, the eighth seeded Holger Rune of Denmark, faced a tricky encounter with Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka, a talented lefthander who, like Rune, recorded his best Australian Open result by reaching the round of 16 in 2023.

Both are exciting players and so it was disappointing to see one of them eliminated so early but in the end that fate befell Nishioka who lost 6-2 4-6 7-6(3) 6-4 allowing the Dane to continue his ambition of becoming the youngest player to become AO champion since the 20-year-old Djokovic in 2008 – a goal which Alcaraz could also realise.