Federer, Murray go through
Print Edition
ROGER Federer returned from a six-month layoff to beat fellow 35-year-old Juergen Melzer just before midnight on day one of the Australian Open, agreeing it felt a bit like coming home.
The 17-time major winner hadn’t played at tour level since Wimbledon, giving his injured left knee time to heal.
He served 19 aces and had only one double-fault in a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 win yesterday over Melzer at Rod Laver Arena, but dropped serve three times and had moments of frustration.
“It’s nice to be playing normal tennis again,” he said. “It was a long road (but) I’m in the draw, which is a beautiful thing.”
Federer, who has won four Australian titles, plays another qualifier next after Noah Rubin beat Bjorn Fratangelo.
Plenty of top players concurred that first rounds are never easy, including defending champion and top-ranked Angelique Kerber and US Open champion Stan Wawrinka.
In his first grand slam match with the elevated status of having a knighthood and the No. 1 ranking, Andy Murray berated himself when he made mistakes and frequently yelled during a 7-5, 7-6 (5), 6-2 win over Illya Marchenko.
The five-time finalist easily navigated what he hoped was the first step to a drought-breaking Australian Open title.
Kerber, who is defending a major title and is also the No. 1 seed at a grand slam for the first time, rallied to a 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 win over Lesia Tsurenko.
Kerber won her first major title here last year, beating Serena Williams after saving match point in the first round.
Wawrinka, who made his grand slam breakthrough in Australia in 2014, had a tough time in the first night match on Margaret Court Arena, scraping past 35th-ranked Martin Klizan 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.
In the ninth game of the fifth set, Wawrinka smashed a soft half-volley from Klizan straight back into the Slovakian’s body, clipping the frame and just missing his midsection. He stepped over the net to ensure Klizan was OK, then went on to hold serve and broke in the next game to finish off in 3 hours, 24 minutes.
Five of the women’s seeds fell, led by No. 4 Simona Halep, who lost 3-6, 1-6 to Shelby Rogers.
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