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      • 2016 Champion James Duckworth faces 2016 Runner-up Polmans in round one action at the Apis Canberra International
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        • Sam Stosur becomes a mum
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        • Federer Claims Victory in Historic Doubles Match Against Serena Williams
        • Australian results for 14 November
        • Australian Tennis Results 5-11 November 2018
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        • Australian Tennis Results 29 October – 4 November 2018
        • Zoe Hives takes the Apis Canberra International title from Olivia Rogowska
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        • Australian Tennis Results 8-14 October 2018
        • Marc Polmans into the ATP Challenger Stockton $100,000 final
        • Marc Polmans and Jordan Thompson look to setup an all-Australian ATP Challenger final in Stockton
        • Alex de Minaur set to take over as the top ranked Australian
        • Australian Tennis Results for the week of 24-30 September 2018
        • Bernard Tomic Charges into the 70s as he comes back from four match points to win the ATP 250 title in Chengdu
        • Daria Gavrilova Advances Past Jelena Ostapenko – Ash Barty gets the better of Johanna Konta in Wuhan
        • Australian Tennis Results for the week of 17-23 September 2018
        • Bertens denies Tomljanovic her maiden WTA title as she wins the Korea Open title
        • Australian Tennis Results for the week of 10-16 September 2018 – James Duckworth Claims Cary Challenger Title
        • Ash Barty teams up with CoCo Vandeweghe to claime their first Grand Slam doubles title
        • Can John Millman pull off another big upset against Novak Djokovic at the US Open?
        • Tomic wins Challenger event at Rafa’s home patch
        • Millman marches on as Federer outclasses Kyrgios to setup meeting with Millman
        • Ash Barty advances to round 4 for the first time at a grand slam in singles
        • Kyrgios advances after a bizarre pep talk from the umpire – Federer is next
        • Tomljanovic lets a match point slip away before losing second round match in third set tiebreaker
        • Australia’s Alex de Minaur triumphs again in New York
        • Ash Barty has too much firepower for Lucie Safarova
        • Kyrgios Advances at the US Open
        • Gavrilova and Kubler out of the US Open
        • US Open preview for the Australians
        • Maverick Banes wins his maiden ATP Challenger title
        • The fight is on for a ticket to New York and the US Open – updated – Ellen Perez v Lizette Cabrera in final
        • Maverick Banes ends Alexei Popyrin’s win streak in Korea
  • Grand Slams
    • Australian Open
      • Comeback queen Muchova sends Barty packing
      • Serena too tough for Simona
      • Barty cruises into her third straight Australian Open quarterfinal
      • Osaka sees off two match points before bookin a showdown with Hsieh
      • Barty stands alone after Fognini beats de Minaur
      • Djokovic roars back for win after a slip against Fritz
      • Thiem tames Kyrgios serve to advance
      • Kokkinakis falls short after five set marathon against Tsitsipas
      • Ash overcomes Dash in all-Australian matchup
      • Kyrgios fights off two match points enroute to epic win
      • Halep escapes challenge from Tomljanovic
      • Day 1 wrap for the Aussies
      • Australian Open 2021 – Australian women’s preview
      • Australian Open 2021 – Australian men’s preview
      • 3 Positive COVID-19 tests – Keys out, Sandgren in, Murray maybe
      • Tomic the lone Aussie to advance through qualifying
      • More to get wild about at the Aussie Open
      • Australian Open wild cards so far
      • Australian Open dates confirmed
      • Australian Open dates still up in the air
      • Djokovic is great at eight
      • Ram and Salisbury claim their first Grand Slam doubles title
      • Kenin completes the fairytale as she claims her maiden Grand Slam title
      • Barty blows it twice and Kenin swoops to take her place in the final
      • Could this be the changing of the guard?
      • Saville and Purcell advance to their first Grand Slam semifinal
      • Federer pulls off another escape act to advance to the semis
      • Barty books semifinal spot against Kenin after dismantling Kvitova
      • Kyrgios pushes Nadal to the limit before world no. 1 marches into the quarter finals
      • Barty bounces Riske to setup Kvitova quarterfinal rematch
      • Polmans gets breakthrough win at the Australian Open
      • The rain is the big winner at the Australian Open on day 1 but Barty advances
      • Aussies at the Australian Open – round one matchups and previews
    • French Open
      • Swiatek becomes first Pole to win a singles grand slam
      • Australian lucky losers and protected ranking player advance
      • Nadal the King of Clay reigns supreme at Roland Garros
      • Barty cruises to Grand Slam glory in Paris
      • Barty rides the rollercoaster into the French Open final
      • Barty charges into the French Open semifinals
      • Barty books French Open quarterfinal match against Keys
      • Barty enters new territory at Roland Garros
      • Top Aussies Barty and de Minaur advance at Roland Garros
      • Angelique Kerber is first to lose on the new Philippe Chatrier Court
      • Ash Barty headlines Aussie charge at Roland Garros
      • Nadal Stays Perfect in Roland Garros Finals and Claims Title Number 11
      • Simona Halep Finally Lifts a Grand Slam Trophy after Winning at Roland Garros
      • Gavrilova and Stosur crash out of the French Open
    • Wimbledon
      • Wimbledon cancelled for 2020 due to coronavirus
      • Djokovic fights off two match points to retain the Wimbledon title
      • Halep first Romanian to claim the Wimbledon Ladies singles title
      • Serena doing it for the mums at Wimbledon
      • Riske is rewarded as she bundles Barty out of Wimbledon
      • Kyrgios v Nadal match lives up to the hype as Nadal advances
      • Barty eases through to the third round
      • Tomljanovic and Popyrin lose their round two matches
      • Four Aussies still alive in Wimbledon qualifying draw
      • Mixed day for the Aussie women after a perfect start for the Aussie men at the Wimbledon qualifying
      • Aussies off to a perfect start at Wimbledon qualifying
      • Off Court News – What Have Some of the Players Been Up To Since Wimbledon
      • Novak Djokovic completes the comeback with a surprise Wimbledon title
      • Angelique Kerber Claims First Wimbledon Title
      • Aussies wiped out on Wimbledon’s opening Saturday
      • Barty, Gavrilova, Kyrgios, Ebden and de Minaur advance to the third round at Wimbledon as Tomic falls
      • Top three Australian women safely through to the second round of the Wimbledon Ladies’ singles
      • Day one Wimbledon wrap for the Australians
      • Australian Preview for Gentlemen’s Singles at Wimbledon 2018
      • Kubler, Smith and Bolt win through to the Wimbledon main-draw
      • Five from Eight Australian Men Advance at Roehampton in Wimbledon Singles Qualifiers
    • US Open
      • Mother of all comebacks falls short as Osaka claims title
      • Thiem tramples de Minaur to advance to semifinals
      • de Minaur into his first grand slam quarterfinal
      • Coric defeats Thompson to advance to the quarterfinals
      • Jordan Thompson advances to a grand slam fourth round for the first time
      • de Minaur advances Millman and O’Connell are out
      • Jordan Thompson advances to third round
      • Day two US Open Aussie review
      • Aussies fight hard but only Thompson advances
      • Aussies at the US Open – preview
      • Nick Kyrgios says no to the US Open
      • Barty confirms she won’t be playing the US Open
      • Wang Qiang ends Barty’s US Open
      • Barty and de Minaur take their place in the US Open round of 16
      • Rain sends most players packing at the US Open but Barty marches on
      • A good day for the Aussies in New York
      • Barty recovers from a slow start to Open her US Open campaign
      • Novak Djokovic joins Pete Sampras with 14th Grand Slam singles titles after defeating Juan Martin del Potro at the US Open
      • Ash Barty teams up with CoCo Vandeweghe to claime their first Grand Slam doubles title
      • Japan’s Naomi Osaka claims first Grand Slam title amid Serena coaching controversy
      • Lightning doesn’t strike twice as Djokovic advances past Millman
      • Can John Millman pull off another big upset against Novak Djokovic at the US Open?
      • John Millman claims the biggest win of his career as he knocks off Roger Federer
      • US Open – Barty fails to captilise on break points and bows out to Pliskova
      • Millman marches on as Federer outclasses Kyrgios to setup meeting with Millman
      • Alex de Minaur goes down fighting against Marin Cilic
      • Ash Barty advances to round 4 for the first time at a grand slam in singles
      • Tomljanovic lets a match point slip away before losing second round match in third set tiebreaker
      • Australia’s Alex de Minaur triumphs again in New York
      • Kyrgios advances after a bizarre pep talk from the umpire – Federer is next
      • Ash Barty has too much firepower for Lucie Safarova
      • Gavrilova and Kubler out of the US Open
      • Kyrgios Advances at the US Open
      • US Open preview for the Australians
      • The fight is on for a ticket to New York and the US Open – updated – Ellen Perez v Lizette Cabrera in final
      • Six US Open Winners Headline the 2018 US Open Women’s Singles field
  • Women’s Tennis Association
    • ATP and WTA announce an extension of the COVID-19 suspension
    • Ash Barty wins the WTA Finals to cap off an amazing year but one prize still remains
    • Videos
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      • Aussie summer of tennis is go
      • Kenin bundles Barty out of the Rogers Cup – Osaka one win from no. 1 ranking but Pliskova also in the hunt
      • Pliskova sends a warning ahead of Wimbledon
      • Ash Barty is two wins away from no. 1 after advancing past Venus Williams in Birmingham
      • Barty overcomes a tough first round opponent in Birmingham
      • Barty could take world no.1 ranking in Birmingham
      • Barty can’t halt Halep surge for no. 1
      • Barty punctuates her top-ten arrival by claiming Miami Open title
      • Barty beats the rain and Kontaveit to reach the Miami final
      • Barty finally gets the better of Kvitova to advance to the Miami semifinals and lock-in top-ten ranking
      • Andreescu completes her Indian Wells fairytale
      • Barty sets up Svitolina showdown in Indian Wells
      • Perfect day for the Aussies at Indian Wells with wins for Barty, Gavrilova, Bolt and Popyrin
      • Tomljanovic and Thompson advance – Stosur, Millman and Ebden are out at Indian Wells
      • Daria Gavrilova breaks her duck in Indian Wells
      • Bencic claims the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship title
      • Mertens claims another top-10 scalp on the way to the Qatar Total Open title
      • Bertens overcomes a slow start against Vekic to claim the St Petersburg title
      • Bertens and Vekic to face off for the St Petersburg title
      • Vekic ends Kvitova’s win streak in St Petersburg
      • Kvitova begins St Petersburgh Ladies Trophy title defence defeating Azarenka
      • Gavrilova’s 2019 winless streak continues
      • Petra Kvitova breaks Aussie’s hearts as she claims her second Sydney International title
      • Barty defeats Bertens to book her second consecutive final at the Sydney International
      • Barty advances to semifinal showdown against Bertens
      • Kvitova ends Kerber’s title defence at the Sydney International
      • Sydney International Tennis Stars Cruise the Harbour
      • Birrell stuns world no. 10 Kasatkina at the Brisbane International
    • International
      • Konta ends Tomljanovic’s run in Rabat
      • Anisimova denies Sharma her first WTA title as she wins her first in Bogota
      • Astra Sharma advances to her first WTA semifinal after a tricky encounter with Sara Errani
      • Sharma marches into new territory in Bogota
      • Azarenka Outlasts Kerber to Advance to Final in Monterrey
      • Yastremska claims second WTA title at Toyota Thailand Open
      • Yastremska secures spot in Toyota Thailand Open Final
      • Tomljanovic cruises into Toyota Thailand Open Final
      • Yastremska too hot for Muguruza in Thailand – Tomljanovic, Linette and Zidansek also advance
      • Tomljanovic toughs it out in Thailand
      • Muguruza mounts comeback to oust Barthel at the Toyota Thailand Open
      • Muguruza defeats Lisicki to open Toyota Thailand Open campaign
      • Bertens denies Tomljanovic her maiden WTA title as she wins the Korea Open title
      • Ajla Tomljanovic into Korea Open final after upsetting Hsieh Su-Wei
      • Ajla Tomljanovic battles past Mandy Minella to earn a semifinal spot in Seoul
      • Olga Danilovic is the first-ever lucky loser to claim a WTA singles title
      • Alizé Cornet heads to Gstaad final after Bouchard retirement
      • Sam Stosur Can’t Get Past the Mallorca Defending Champion
    • ITF
      • Ash Barty wins the WTA Finals to cap off an amazing year but one prize still remains
      • Honours even after Fed Cup day one – Australia v Belarus
      • Fed Cup finals spot up for grabs
      • Rogowska adds clay title to her Canberra hard court title
      • Hon to take on Rogowska for the ACT Clay Court International #2 title
      • Aussies shine despite gloomy weather for the ACT Clay Court International #2
      • No. 1 seed Hon advances while the defending champion goes down at the ACT Clay Court International #2
      • Priscilla Hon headlines the ACT Clay Court International #2 tournament
      • Destanee Aiava finally claims a Canberra title
    • Players
      • Angelique Kerber
  • ATP Tour
    • ATP and WTA announce an extension of the COVID-19 suspension
    • de Minaur back in action in Spain
    • Videos
    • Masters 1000
      • Indian Wells tournament called off due to coronavirus fears
      • Kyrgios and Thompson crash out of Miami along with Djokovic
      • Jordan Thompson steps it up in Miami
      • Kyrgios the entertainer marches on in Miami
      • Thiem overcomes Federer for Maiden Masters Title in Indian Wells
      • Perfect day for the Aussies at Indian Wells with wins for Barty, Gavrilova, Bolt and Popyrin
      • Tomljanovic and Thompson advance – Stosur, Millman and Ebden are out at Indian Wells
      • Potential Desert Duel for Kyrgios and Djokovic
      • Matt Ebden loses to Borna Coric in the quarterfinals at the Shanghai Masters
      • Djokovic finally gets his Cincinnati Masters title and completes career Golden Masters
      • Federer and Djokovic set to meet for the 46th time in the Cincinnati Masters final
      • Nick Kyrgios goes walkabout against Juan Martín del Potro
      • Rogers Cup – Barty Collects the Doubles Title in Montreal and Peers wins the Toronto Title
      • Kyrgios feeling the pain after falling to Wawrinka at Toronto
      • Nadal takes Rome Masters 1000 title from Zverev
    • ATP Cup
      • Australia defeats Great Britain in a thriller to advance to the ATP Cup semifinals
      • Australia takes another step toward the ATP Cup quarterfinals after despatching Canada
      • Kyrgios and de Minaur get Australia a winning start at the ATP Cup
    • World 500
      • Kyrgios Claims second ATP 500 title as he defeats Medvedev for the title in Washington – to rise to no. 1 ranked Australian
      • Kyrgios reaches ATP 500 final in Washington after rollercoaster ride against Tsitsipas
      • Nick Kyrgios silences the critics as he caps off an amazing week in Acapulco with title
      • Federer joins exclusive 100 club after claiming Dubai crown
      • Kyrgios ices Isner in Acapulco to book Zverev finals showdown
      • Federer one match away from 100 titles as he takes on his Australian Open conquerer Tsitsipas
      • Kyrgios Conquers Nadal in Acapulco
      • Kyrgios and de Minaur advance Popyrin falls in Acapulco
      • Alex de Minaur earns his first ATP 500 finals berth after epic battle against Andrey Rublev
      • Injured Kyrgios Withdraws from Washington – Duckworth into ATP 500 Third Round
      • Dominic Thiem proves too good for John Millman on the Hamburg clay at the ATP 500 event
      • John Millman Defeats Jan-Lennard Struff at Hamburg ATP 500 Event
      • Cilic Too Good for Kyrgios at the Queen’s Club
      • Kyrgios halts Murray’s comeback at Queen’s Club
      • Borna Coric takes the Halle title from Roger Federer
    • World 250
      • Millman claims his maiden ATP title in Nur-Sultan
      • Humbert defeats de Minaur to claim European Open title
      • de Minaur to take on Umbert for European Open title
      • de Minaur advances in Atlanta – Popyrin and Tomic are out
      • Thompson falls short in first ATP level final
      • Popyrin falls to defending champion in Estoril
      • Thompson fights back from defeat in Houston
      • de Minaur claims his maiden ATP title in his home town
      • Seppi into Sydney International Tennis final
      • John Millman falls short of Sydney International semifinal
      • Some late night Hewitt entertainment at the Sydney International
      • No. 1 seed knocked out of the Sydney International by Andreas Seppi
      • Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andreas Seppi preview
      • de Minaur Overcomes Thompson in an All Aussie Quarterfinal Clash at the Sydney International
      • Local hopes end as de Minaur and Tomljanovic bow out of the Brisbane International
      • Tomic grabs a top-100 ranking as he marches into the Chengdu final
      • Ebden falls to Isner in Atlanta – Thompson and Rodionova advance to finals in Binghamton and Granby
      • Ebden into Atlanta semis as Kyrgios retires against Norrie and Thompson marches on at Binghamton Challenger
      • Federer gets past Kyrgios to claim world no. 1 and reach the Stuttgart final
    • Challenger
      • Polmans wins the Zhangjiagang $54K ATP Challenger Title
      • Polmans overcomes a slow start to defeat Banes in Bangalore at the ATP Challenger Tour $150,000 event
      • Jordan Thompson rockets his ranking up to 73 after back-to-back ATP Challenger titles
      • Thompson aiming for eighth ATP Challenger final in 2018
      • Jordan Thompson wins his second ATP Challenger title for 2018
      • Thanasi Kokkinakis into the Las Vegas ATP Challenger Final
      • Jordan Thompson reaches back-to-back ATP Challenger finals
      • Kokkinakis and Smith roll into Las Vegas semifinals

Aussies at the Australian Open – round one matchups and previews

January 19, 2020 by Rob Keating Leave a Comment

The first grand slam of the year is just about here. On Thursday night in Melbourne the draw was conducted. In this article you can read about who the Australian players are facing in round one.

Photo of Melbourne Arena at the Melbourne Tennis Centre - Photo by Rob Keating
Melbourne, Australia – 19 January 2020 – Melbourne Arena with Belinda Bencic practicing on an outside court(Photo by Rob Keating –

Our best hope to end a 40 year long title drought is Ash Barty the current world no. 1. On the men’s side it is Nick Kyrgios with perhaps the only realistic chance of lifting the men’s trophy out of the 10 men taking part.

Alex de Minaur was set to play but a stomach injury saw him withdraw from the tournament. Below are the first round matches for the Australians. Some analysis is further below.

WOMEN
(1) Ashleigh Barty v Lesia Tsurenko (UKR)
Ajla Tomljanovic v 31-Anastasija Sevastova (LAT)
Samantha Stosur v (Q) Catherine McNally (USA)
(WC) Priscilla Hon v Kateryna Kozlova (UKR)
(WC) Astra Sharma v 28-Anett Kontaveit (EST)
(WC) Lizette Cabrera v (Q)Ann Li (USA)
(WC) Arina Rodionova v Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR)

MEN
(23) Nick Kyrgios v Lorenzo Sonego (ITA)
John Millman v Ugo Humbert (FRA)
Jordan Thompson v Alexander Bublik (KAZ)
Alexei Popyrin v 28-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)
James Duckworth v Aljaz Bedene (SLO)
(WC) Chris O’Connell v 17-Andrey Rublev (RUS)
(WC) Marc Polmans v Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ)
(WC) Alex Bolt v Albert Vinolas Ramos (ESP)
(WC) Andrew Harris v 8-Matteo Berrettini (ITA)
(WC) John-Patrick Smith v 22-Guido Pella (ARG)
(Q) Max Purcell v Jannik Sinner (ITA)

(1) Ashleigh Barty v Lesia Tsurenko (UKR)

Barty opens her campaign against former world no. 23 Lesia Tsurenko from Ukraine. Tsurenko was at her career high in February of last year after a good showing at the 2018 US Open and after having reached the final at the 2019 Brisbane Interational.

After that it was a tough year for the Ukrainian and she missed much of second half of the 2019 season. A elbow injury forced her to withdraw from the 2019 US Open so she could not defend her quarterfinals ranking points.

Tsurenko is a quality player and if she has fully recovered from her injury she could present Barty with a tough match is Barty is not at the top of her game. You would expect the world no. 1 to advance but it won’t be a monumental upset to see Tsurenko get through. Although I am sure most people would be shocked.

Ajla Tomljanovic v 31-Anastasija Sevastova (LAT)

World no. 52 Tomljanovic has the game to defeat Sevastova. She lost to Simona Halep in Adelaide and Karolina Pliskova in Brisbane so has some form going into the Australian Open.

Sevastova has had two first round losses to start the season and she struggled for wins after a round of 32 loss at the US Open. The Latvian is 2-0 in the head 2 head matchup winning twice on grass. From what the Australian has shown in the opening two weeks of 2020 I am tipping her to advance.

Priscilla Hon v Kateryna Kozlova (UKR)

Hon and Kozlova are meeting for the first time. Kozlova is ranked at no. 91 and Hon at no. 139. Hon has plenty of raw talent but lacks consistency. She pushed Julia Gorges to a tie-breaker in Adelaide before the German ran away with the second set. With the support of a home crowd I am tipping Hon.

Astra Sharma v 28-Anett Kontaveit (EST)

Sharma’s breakout performance came in April 2019 when she reached the final at the Bogota tournament losing to Amanda Anisomova. That result pushed her close to the top-100 rankings and she would eventually reach a career-high at no. 85 in June.

The second half of the year was not that good for Sharma and her ranking drifted back outside the top-100 and she is now ranked at no. 110.

This is the first meeting between the Australian and Estonian. Kontaveit should have the form to beat Sharma.

Arina Rodionova v Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR)

In the third of the Australia vs Ukraine matchups in the women’s draw it is the world no. 201 Rodionova against world no. 534 Bondarenko. The Ukainian is making a comeback after giving birth to her second child in 2019.

Rodionova reached the main draw thanks to a win at the Australian wildcard tournament in December. The Australian has some good recent form and is my tip to advance.

Sam Stosur and Lizette Cabrera are waiting on the outcome of the qualifying tournament before they learn who they will face in the opening round.

Men’s preview

(23) Nick Kyrgios v Lorenzo Sonego (ITA)

Kyrgios after having come through the ATP Cup should have the matches needed to come out firing against Sonego. The problem is that now he is back to playing away from the team environment that he loves so much.

Will good Nick or bad Nick take to the court? You never know what to expect. Kyrgios is ranked at no. 26 and Sonego is no. 52. They have met once before with Kyrgios winning 7-5, 6-4 in a round of 64 match at the ATP Masters in Cincinnati. In the next match he had the meltdown against Karen Khachenov.

If the Kyrgios serve is firing I tip him to win, a bit of an off game and Sonego is good enough to cause an upset.

John Millman v Ugo Humbert (FRA)

Millman is ranked no. 47 and Humbert is at no. 57 although after winning the Auckland ATP 250 title the Frenchman will jump to no. 43 on Monday.

Millman had two matches at the ATP Cup including a good win over Adelaide semifinalist Felix Auger-Alisssime and he won two matches in Auckland including a win against Karen Khachanov.

Very often it is hard to back up a title win with a good showing the week after. That could give the edge to Millman but on the other hand Humbert could ride a wave of confidence and defeat the Australian.

Jordan Thompson v Alexander Bublik (KAZ)

Bublik the Russian born Kazakh player reached the final at the ATP 250 event in Chengdu, China in September. He defeated Thompson 6-4, 7-5 in the round on 16, this being their only meeting.

Thompson also reached an ATP 250 final in s-Sertogenbosch losing to Adrian Mannarino. This match is a hard one to pick a winner for.

Alexei Popyrin v 28-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)

Popyrin managed some good wins at last years Australian Open although he was helped out by an out of sorts Dominic Thiem. This year he faces a former finalist in Tsonga. Popyrin will have to be at the top of his game to get past the popular Frenchman.

James Duckworth v Aljaz Bedene (SLO)

Duckworth showed some form in Adelaide and has a good chance to advance over Bedene. The Australian leads the head-to-head 2-1 although the last time they played each other was back in 2013.

Filed Under: Australian Open

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