A lack of headlines on day 1

Reader, I ask you, what was your headline on day 1 of the Australian Open?

I struggled.

I know the headline we would have had if Novak Djokovic were playing:

Novak Djokovic wins opener on march to historic 21st slam

or

Boos and an inspired Kecmanovic bust Djokovic in shock upset for top seed.

Rafa Nadal did return, but I wonder if anyone seriously believes he will win. His quarter final defeat to Sascha Zverev seems inevitable.

There were no huge upsets. Cam Norrie is about as lowkey a name as it gets for an ATP 1000 winner and he could win only several games in his defeat to young Seb Korda.

Other upsets were:

18th seed Coco Gauff, to Wang Qiang.

11th seed and 2020 champion Sofia Kenin went down in straights to Madison Keys.

30th seed Lloyd Harris went down in four to Aleksander Vukic.

Replacement top seed Caruso went down to Kecmanovic in straights.

Most sad of all, recent Adelaide Champ Thanassi Kokkinakis was beaten in straights by Yannick Hanfmann, meaning we won’t get the second round meeting with Rafa. Now that would have been headline making.

Let’s see what day 2 brings.