Australian Open, Day 1: Aryna Sabalenka begins title defence with dominant win, Kei Nishikori shows sparks of remaining life in thriller | Tennis News

In her first Major as World No.1 and with a target on her back being the heavy tournament favourite, a first round against a seasoned opponent could have been a potential banana skin for Aryna Sabalenka on the opening day of the 2025 Australian Open.Instead, Sabalenka powered through the defences of 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens 6-3, 6-2 in the kind of dominant fashion expected of a two-time defending champion arriving in Melbourne in the form of her life.
The Belarusian picked up a routine straight-sets victory under the roof of the Rod Laver Arena, her 28th in her last 29 matches at the Australian Open. It was the kind of win that signalled a warning to the rest of the locker room, reaffirming the top seed’s status as the one to beat in the women’s section this Aussie summer.
Sabalenka, attempting to become the first woman since Martina Hingis in 1999 to win three successive women’s singles titles in Melbourne, fashioned a 4-0 lead in the first set and looked set to dominate proceedings before suffering a mini-blip, Stephens breaking back to bring the score to 4-3.
The World No.1, now 26 and in the best physical and mental shape of her career, was touted for great things even as a teenager, given her evident talent and the easy power she enjoys. But her early career was marked tentativeness, and she was known for frequent double faults when the pressure was on.

There is a first for everything 🤣
Aryna Sabalenka and the Rod Laver Crowd do an on court TikTok 💃#AusOpen • #AO2025 pic.twitter.com/kNtQSVyFLU
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 12, 2025
All that now seems a thing of the past as, when the pressure was applied on Sunday, she readily found another gear. Sabalenka broke Stephens again, took the set in the next game, and wrapped up the match in another 30 minutes.
In that moment, I would get frustrated and probably would lose the first set,” Sabalenka said post-match, per Reuters. “I’m really glad that I improved my mental toughness, let’s say.”
Sabalenka enters the Australian Open having won three of her last five tournaments, including the tune-up event in Brisbane last week. While the next fortnight may throw up several challenges, as far as statements of intent go, this was as matter-of-fact as it gets.
Comeback man scores comeback win
The first comeback from a two-set deficit in 2025 came on the very first day of Grand Slam tennis. Former World No.4 and US Open final Kei Nishikori saved two match points to mount a resurgence and beat Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro 4-6, 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 in an opening-day thriller at John Cain Arena on Sunday.
Injury problems have curbed Nishikori, now 35, for years, as he made several attempts to return to the elite level of men’s tennis, where he spent most of the 2010s in. A strong finish to 2024 on the lower-rung Challenger Tour and a return to full fitness put him in good stead to start this season, which he began with a run to the final of the ATP 250 event in Hong Kong last week, catapulting him back into the top 100 of the rankings.

More people have walked on the moon than have beaten @keinishikori in a fifth set!
29-8 in career five setters, 8-1 at the #AusOpen!
The Japanese defeats Thiago Monteiro 4-6 6-7(4) 7-5 6-2 6-3@wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis • #AusOpen • #AO2025 pic.twitter.com/qo3KN59fGh
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 12, 2025
That Nishikori continues to have signs of life was evident in the vintage performance of over four hours on Sunday to make it to the second round of the Australian Open for the first time since 2015.
The Japanese player, still the only man from Asia to reach a singles Major final, saved two match points on his serve down 4-5 in the third set before finding the baseline solidity of old and outlasting his opponent in the marathon match.
Nishikori’s victory was not the only five-set grind of the day. Sixth seed and three-time Grand Slam final Casper Ruud avoided becoming the first top name to be bundled out of Melbourne after prevailing 6-3, 1-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 over Spain’s Jaume Munar.
Nagal loses opener
India’s top-ranked singles player, Sumit Nagal was defeated in straight sets World No.25 Thomas Machac to end the Indian challenge this year in Melbourne.
Having been dealt a tough draw, Nagal, the only Indian player to qualify for singles action at the Australian Open, lost 3-6, 1-6, 5-7 to the promising Czech. Nagal was put under pressure early in the encounter and failed to make good of his chances, especially in the third set.
Despite the two-set deficit, he had fought back and fashioned a 3-0 lead in the third before allowing Machac back into the encounter and eventually folding.
Rain dampener
While action featuring the top players was seamless, chaos prevailed at Melbourne Park with the first half of the day disrupted rain. Despite starting on a Sunday to ease the scheduling pressure, allowing the 128 first-round singles matches to take place across three days, rain spoiled those plans with as many as seven matches pushed to Monday.
Such was the scramble that, according to a news report in The Guardian, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, the two best players in the world, were forced to share one half of an indoor court as both of them prepared for their opening assignments, against Nicolas Jarry and Alexander Shevchenko respectively, on Monday.
Ten-time former champion Novak Djokovic, looking to bounce back after a Slam-less year, will also kickstart his tournament on Monday against Indian-origin American Nishesh Basavareddy.

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