News Sports Tennis Australian Open 2022 Day 2: US Open champion Raducanu in action

Australian Open 2022 Day 2: US Open champion Raducanu in action

In the high profile women's singles match of the day the teenage Grand Slam champion will face 2017 US Open winner Sloane Stephens.

Emma Raducanu walks to her practice court with her coach Torben Beltz prior to a practice session at Image Source : CLIVE BRUNSKILL/GETTY IMAGESEmma Raducanu walks to her practice court with her coach Torben Beltz prior to a practice session at Melbourne Park on Sunday.

The high-profile women’s match on Day 2 features current and former US Open champions Emma Raducanu and Sloane Stephens in the first round. Stephens has six WTA tournament titles, including the 2018 US Open title.

The 19-year-old Raducanu has just the one title, but it's a major. “I watched Sloane win the U.S. Open . . . I hit with her last year actually,” Raducanu said in a pre-tournament news conference. “Obviously you don’t win a Grand Slam without being very capable.”

Second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka opens against Australia wild-card entry Storm Sanders, and No. 3 Garbine Muguruza opens play on Rod Laver against Clara Burel. In men's play, second-seeded Daniil Medvedev — now effectively the top seed after Novak Djokovic had his visa cancelled and was deported for not being vaccinated against COVID-19 — plays Henri Laaksonen.

No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas takes on Mikael Ymer in a night match. Andy Murray, a three-time Grand Slam singles winner but a five-time runner-up at Melbourne Park, plays Nikoloz Basilashvili. Murray is coming off his run to the final at last week’s Sydney tournament where he beat two top 25 players — Reilly Opelka and Basilashvili — before losing in the final to top-seeded Aslan Karatsev.

TUESDAY’S FORECAST

Mostly cloudy, high of 21 Celsius (70 Fahrenheit).

MONDAY’S WEATHER

Mostly cloudy but sunny later in the day, High of 23 C (74 F).

MONDAY’S KEY RESULTS

Women’s First Round: No. 1 Ash Barty beat Lesia Tsurenko 6-0, 6-1; defending champion Naomi Osaka beat Maria Osorio 6-3, 6-3; No. 4 Barbora Krejcikova beat Andrea Petkovic 6-2, 6-0; No. 5 Maria Sakkari beat Tatjana Maria 6-4, 7-6 (2); No. 8 Paula Badosa beat Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4, 6-0; Madison Keys beat No. 11 Sofia Kenin 7-6 (2), 7-5; No. 15 Elina Svitolina beat Fiona Ferro 6-1, 7-6 (4); Wang Qiang beat No. 18 Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-2; No. 22 Belinda Bencic beat Kristina Mladenovic 6-4, 6-3.

Men’s First Round: No. 3 Alexander Zverev beat Daniel Altmaier 7-6 (3), 6-1, 7-6 (1); No. 6 Rafael Nadal beat Marcos Giron 6-1, 6-4, 6-2; No. 7 Matteo Berrettini beat Brandon Nakashima 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (5), 6-3; No. 14 Denis Shapovalov beat Laslo Djere 7-6 (3), 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (3); No. 17 Gael Monfils beat Federico Coria 6-1, 6-1, 6-3.

STATS OF THE DAY

70: number of match wins for Nadal in Australian Open singles draws. He first played at Melbourne Park in 2004 and won the tournament in 2009.

40: Feliciano Lopez became just the second 40-year-old man to compete in the Australian Open singles main draw in the Open era. His 20th Australian Open campaign, and 79th consecutive major, ended in a first-round loss to John Millman.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“It’s very complicated, a very messy situation. You can take either side. It’s honestly very sad that it had to end that way” — U.S. player Amanda Anisimova on top-ranked Novak Djokovic's deportation from Australia.

(Reported by AP)