All of the men's first-round tennis matches were completed today at the Australian Open and most of the women's as well. There were a few significant additional seed-upsets. Joining Maria Sharapova on the loss column today was Robin Soderling, the 8th seed - upset by unseeded Marcel Granollers from Spain. Robin won the first two sets, only to let the match slip away in a tough 5-setter - a big disappointment for the Swede who has been playing inspiring tennis since his win over Rafa in the quarters at Roland Garros. Also, Tommy Robredo, the 16th seed from Spain was upset by a virtual unknown - Santiago Giraldo from Columbia. And finally, the big American Sam Querrey lost in a close 5-setter to the veteran Reiner Schuttler from Germany. However, one positive for the Americans - Donald Young posted an upset win over the Belgian Christopher Rochus and will face Leyton Hewitt in the second round.
The rest of the top seeds made it safely through the first round of play. Nikolai Davydenko destroyed German qualifier Dieter Kindlmann; while Roger Federer had a tough close encounter with the big-hitting Russian Igor Andreev, whom Roger managed to beat in 4 sets. Though Roger was expecting a battle, this was a really tough first round of play - remember the 5-set thriller Roger and Igor played against each other in the quarters at the 2008 U.S. Open?
The rest of the top guns all posted wins in their first rounds - on the men's side - Novak Djokovic, James Blake, John Isner, Gael Monfils, Stan Wawrinka, Tomas Berdych, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Fernando Verdasco, David Ferrer and Tommy Haas are all through.
On the women's side Serena and Venus Williams both won their matches with ease. The two Serbians Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic also got through in straight sets.
Day Three Matches to Watch!
What a pity that Elena Dementieva and Justine Henin have to meet in the second round. This is because Henin is unseeded, so one of two possible winners of the Australian Open will be knocked out in the second round. Which one will it be?
Also James Blake has to face Juan Martin Del Potro in the second round. That's a tough 2nd round opponent for James. Although the underdog, I think James has a shot of upsetting DelPo or at least making it a very tight match. Looking forward to that one.
Both Rafael Nadal (vs. Lukas Lacko) and Andy Murray (vs. Marc Gicquel) should get through without any hiccups. But the way so many players nowadays are hitting with such ferociousness and often with "nothing to lose" - who knows - upsets could be lurking at every corner. Even though I'm a Federer fan I am wish both Rafa and Andy good luck to get through these early rounds. Also Andy Roddick is playing tommorow against a pretty good player - Thomaz Bellucci from Brazil - but the way Andy is playing he should get through this one unscathed!
For those who don't have the Tennis Channel or ESPN2, the matches are being steamed at the following sites: www.channelsurfing.net and www.atdhe.net
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