Parry and Halys qualified, Cornet on the mat, Rublev gets scared… What to remember from the night and the French

The Australian Open opened on Sunday with the victory of Frenchwoman Diane Parry and Russian Andrey Rublev.

Kick-off of the first Grand Slam of the year. For this first day in Melbourne, the Frenchwoman Diane Parry qualified, Sunday January 14, for the second round by winning against the head seed number 30. Quentin Halys put an end to a drought of eight years in Australia by eliminating Lloyd Harris. On the other hand, the day was less bright for Alizé Cornet and Arthur Rinderknech, already eliminated. If the Italian Jannik Sinner validated his ticket for the next round without problem, the Russian Andrey Rublev had to fight to qualify.

The French: Parry and Halys in the 2nd round, Cornet and Rinderknech already eliminated

This is the great news of the day. Diane Parry advanced to the second round of the Australian Open for the first time in her career. A nice blow for the Frenchwoman who eliminated the number 30 seed, the Chinese Xinyu Wang, in three sets 6-3, 2-6, 6-3. Although she was completely out of control during the second round, the Frenchwoman managed to get out of this complex first round, with authority in the last set. In the next round, she will face the Russian Kamilla Rakhimova (90th WTA).

Quentin Halys can also have a smile. The Frenchman won for the first time in eight years in Melbourne against Lloyd Harris in four sets (4-6, 7-6 [7-5]7-5, 7-6 [7-2]) and a little over three hours. The world number 100 quickly recovered after losing the first set, facing an opponent who declined physically but who still posed a problem until the end of the match. He will face the winner of the opposition between Sebastian Korda and Vit Kopriva in the second round.

For Alizé Cornet, on the other hand, it is already over. The 33-year-old from Nice, 112th in the world and recipient of an invitation, was stopped in the first round by the young Russian qualifier Maria Timofeeva 6-2, 6-4. However, the match was much tighter than the score would suggest, since the two players battled for more than two hours. Alizé Cornet notably ruled out two 6-0 balls in the first set. This is the fourth defeat in the first round in the last five Grand Slam tournaments for the player who was playing her 68th consecutive Major tournament, a record. Aged 20, Maria Timofeeva (144th in the WTA) won the very first Grand Slam victory of her young career.

When we tell you that Alizé Cornet is fighting on all points ⬇️ #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/Q0wrycoc0L

No miracle either for Leolia Jeanjean, from qualifying and quickly beaten in two sets (6-2, 6-4) and 1h12 of play by the American Caroline Dolehide, 44th in the world. A class gap separated the two players and the Frenchwoman was never able to resist the crucial breaks from her opponent of the day.

Same scenario for Arthur Rinderknech (97th in the world), who lost to the Russian Pavel Kotov, 64th in the ATP, after a long fight of almost five hours and five rounds 7-5, 6-1, 6-7 (6-8), 6-7 (5-7), 6-3. While the The 28-year-old Frenchman had nevertheless managed to redress the situation at the last minute by dismissing a match point in the decisive game of the third set before pocketing it and equalizing at two sets everywhere, Pavel Kotov found the resources to interrupt this “comeback” and qualify. In three appearances, Arthur Rinderknech has only managed to get past the first round once, in 2022, against Australian Alexei Popyrin.

The notable results: Sinner without shaking, Rublev was hot

A first round in complete control. World number 4 Jannik Sinner, who arrived in Melbourne without having played a preparatory tournament, had a solid entry by dominating the Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp (59th) in three sets 6-4, 7-5, 6-3. A break at the start of the match, another at the end of the second set, and four games scored in a row after being led 2-0 in the third set allowed the young 22-year-old Italian to seriously win in just a short time. more than two and a half hours. “It was my first match of the season, I feel good physically, I’m in good shape. It’s a tournament where I would like to play as well as possible”, declared one of the main outsiders to the title. He will face Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong in the second round.

Qualification was more difficult for Andrey Rublev (5th) against the whimsical Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild (78th). The latter pushed the Russian to his limits after a fight of 3h45 and five sets 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 [10]. It took him five chances to qualify, after being manhandled for two sets by the Brazilian. Pushed to the decisive super tie-break, Andrey Rublev was able to regain his lucidity, severely tested, to conclude the match. He will face either the American Christopher Eubanks or the Japanese Taro Daniel in the second round.