Andrey Rublev of Russia is congratulated by Dominic Thiem of Austria after their first round match at the Australian Open Tennis Championships on January 17, 2023. Photo Credit: AP
Andrey Rublev beat wild-card entry Dominic Thiem 6-3 6-4 6-2 on Tuesday to seal his place in the second round of the Australian Open.
Thiem, runner-up at the Australian Open in 2020 and US Open winner the same year, missed much of 2021 due to injuries but has moved from outside the top 350 last year to a spot inside the top 100. He was given a wild-card entry by the tournament organisers.
“When you see you have to play against Dominic you know it’s not going to be easy. I know he’s been through some tough times so I wish him all the best to get back to that level Which is as fast as he can,” Rublev said.
Rublev will now play either Australian qualifier Max Purcell or Emil Rusuvuori of Finland.
Sablenka remained unbeaten
No. 5 Aryna Sabalenka maintained her unbeaten start to the year with a 6-1 6-4 win over Tereza Martinkova. Sabalenka, who won the Adelaide International in the first week of the year, hit 29 winners against her opponent’s seven to win her fifth match in a row.
“It wasn’t that easy, I’m very happy to start with a win,” said Sabalenka, who will play American Shelby Rogers in the second round.
“I’ve got to work on my mindset and stay calm and not get too upset about making mistakes. I really believe that’s the only thing lacking in my game.”
Sabalenka, who is yet to win a Grand Slam singles title, has not advanced beyond the fourth round at the Australian Open in her last five appearances.
Garbine Muguruza, the runner-up in Melbourne in 2020, lost her fifth straight match at the start of the year when she was beaten 3-6 6-7(3) 6-1 by Elise Mertens.
Muguruza, a two-time Grand Slam champion, held serve for the match at 6-5 in the second set.
Taylor Townsend won her first Grand Slam match after becoming a mother, defeating French wild-card entry Diane Parry 6–1 6–1. The Americans will next meet Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Former US Open runner-up Leyla Fernandez defeated Alize Cornet 7-5 6-2. 21st seed Martina Trevisan was defeated by qualifier Anna Karolina Schmidlova 6-3, 6-2.