The first day of the first grand slam is done and dusted. Day 1 had a few surprises however it had more close calls. This is what we want to see more of in 2024…youngsters pushing the experienced seeded players.

Let me begin with the men’s draw on day 1. Munar and Arnaldi started off their Australian Open campaigns with straight set wins. The first big name in action was Sinner the 4th seed and picked by a whopping 26 teams. His opponent was the unseeded van de Zandschulp who was picked by 3 teams. There was no surprises in this battle as Sinner ,who had played no warm up tournaments due to playing late into last season, made it look easy as he defeated the Dutchman 6-4; 7-5; 6-3. Kotov beat Rinderknech in the first 5 set encounter of the Aussie Open while Marozsan beat Cilic in 4 sets. Cerundolo who was picked by just 1 team beat Sweeny in a close 5 set encounter on John Cain Arena (3-6; 6-3; 6-4; 2-6; 6-2). The next 2 seeds who got through in 5 sets were Rublev the 5th seed and Fritz the 12th seed. Rublev managed to hold his nerve as he found himself going to 5 sets after leading 2 sets to love against Brazilian Seyboth Wild. The Brazilian saved 3 match points at 5-6; 0-40 to take the match into a match tiebreaker. He then led the tiebreaker 4-1 before Rublev won 9 out of the next 11 points to take the breaker 10-6 and book his spot in the 2nd round. At the same time as this was going on Fritz the 12th seed came back from 2 sets to 1 down against Diaz Acosta eventually winning the match 4-6; 6-3; 3-6; 6-2; 6-4. O’Connell and Garin was yet another match which went the full distance with O’Connell winning the 5th set 7-5 to book his spot in the 2nd round. Unfortunately for us South Africans, Lloyd Harris who managed to book his spot by going through qualifying lost in the opening round 6-4; 6-7(5); 5-7; 6-7(2) against Frenchman Halys. Djokovic who was picked by 43 teams managed to come through his longest ever 1st round encounter against 18 year old Prizmic. The number 1 in the world and defending champion winning the match 6-2; 6-7(5); 6-3; 6-4 securing 5 points for those 43 teams. The last men’s match was played on Margeret Court Arena and it was between Tiafoe ,the 17th seed and picked by 5 teams, and Coric who was picked by 8 teams. Unfortunately for those 8 teams Coric could only manage 1 set and it was Tiafoe who came up on top in 4 sets – 6-3; 7-6(7); 2-6; 6-3. Besides the 3rd set, it was a confident building performance from the American who is aiming to win his first grand slam.

The ladies had less close calls but had more upsets. Fernandez made 12 teams happy as she came through in straight sets and secured 6 points with the 7-6(5); 6-2 win. Krejcikova the 9th seed who is looking for a much better year after her very disappointing 2023 managed to come through her first round despite losing the opening set. Fruhvirtova the 16 year old managed to win her very first grand slam match as she beat Bogdan in 3 sets also coming back from a set down. Sakkari who was coming into the Aussie Open with some good form behind her managed to come through with a 6-4; 6-1 win. Parry (picked by 1 team) managed to upset the 30th seed Wang Xinyu who was picked by 2 teams in 3 sets. She won the match 6-3; 2-6; 6-3. Another seed to fall was the 13th seed, Samsonova who lost to Anisimova who is coming back after a lengthy injury break. Samsonova who was picked by 5 teams lost 3-6; 4-6. Wozniacki upset the 20th seed, Linette in straight sets. Linette eventually having to retire in the 2nd set with Wozniacki leading 6-2; 2-0 at the time. This win made her the best lady pick of day 1 as she secured an impressive 11 points. The last match of day 1 was the 2nd seed, Sabalenka who beat her opponent in under an hour 6-0; 6-1 and scoring 10 points for all 43 teams who picked her.

To summarize the picks who lost on day 1 were: Van de Zandschulp, Coric, Samsonova, Wang Xinyu and Linette.

Now onto the fantasy leaderboard. The leaders after day 1 are ‘Simply Smashing’ who scored a very impressive 28 points on day 1. Close behind is ‘Fraud Watch’ who scored 26 points on day 1. Then the next 4 prize positions are all tied on 21 points. These teams are ‘Pensioner’s Choice’, ‘Volley Vibes’, ‘Chip and Charge’, ‘Wobbles’. Just behind is 4 teams on 20 points so all can change with still 2 days of round 1 action to go. There is a huge tie for 18th place as 21 teams all sit on 15 points after day 1. Then there are still 7 teams who have yet to get off the mark and are all in the wooden spoon position as it stands.

Matches to watch on day 2:

• Musetti(25) vs Bonzi (02:00)
• Medvedev(3) vs Atmane (03:00)
• Mannarino(20) vs Wawrinka (03:15)
• Shelton(16) vs Bautista-Agut (03:15)
• Tsitsipas(7) vs Bergs (04:15)
• Eubanks vs Daniel (05:15)
• Etcheverry(30) vs Murray (05:15)
• Hanfmann vs Monfils (05:15)
• Khachanov(15) vs Altmaier (05:15)
• Humbert(21) vs Goffin (06:30)
• Struff(24) vs Hijikata (06:30)
• Hurkacz(9) vs Jasika (08:00)
• De Minaur(10) vs Raonic (10:00)
• Auger-Aliassime(27) vs Thiem (11:15)

• Bouzkova(31) vs Noskova (02:00)
• Svitolina(19) vs Preston (02:00)
• Vondrousova(7) vs Yastremska (02:00)
• Gauff(4) vs Schmiedlova (03:00)
• Alexandrova(17) vs Siegemund (03:15)
• Vekic(21) vs Pavlyuchenkova (05:00)
• Kudermetova(15) vs Golubic (07:15)
• Haddad Maia(10) vs Fruhvirtova (07:15)
• Townsend vs Badosa (07:15)
• Andreeva vs Pera (07:15)
• Jabeur(6) vs Starodubtsewa (10:00)
• Garcia(16) vs Osaka (12:00)

Jared

Jared matriculated in 2020 from Wynberg Boys High School in beautiful Cape Town, South Africa. His passion for tennis afforded him the opportunity of travelling to Europe. He is a quizmaster and a fantasy organiser.