The Australian Open took off on day 5. There were two tiebreak final sets in both the men and women’s draw.
Matteo Berrettini (7) defeated Carlos Alcaraz (31) 6-2, 7-6 (3), 4-6, 2-6, 7-6 (5).
Amanda Anismova upset defending champion Naomi Osaka 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5).
These are the matches a slam needs to get it going. They show how much the tournament means to the players and also that the tennis is competitive. These two matches could be the fire starters to what has been a slowburning event.
Other upsets:
Mannarino beat Karatsev (18) in four sets.
24th seed Azarenka beat 15th seed Svitolina 0 and 2.
Not really an upset, as the seeds are so close, but 17th seed Monfils beat 16th seed Garin in straights.
Kecmanovic defeated Sonego (25) in four. Talk about taking a chance and running with it.
Breaking away from the pack
The tournament’s biggest star, Rafa Nadal (6) surprised even himself with the conviction of his four set win over Karen Khachanov (28). Nadal won the first two sets and then recovered from dropping the third in commanding fashion, winning the fourth 6-1.
A statement win from one of the game’s greatest added some glamor to the day.
Competitive encounters
Shapovalov (14) beat Opelka (23) in four. As did Busta (19) in his match versus Korda.
In the women’s, Badosa (8) beat Kostyuk in three and Krejcikova came back from a set down to defeat Ostapenko.
A worthy first day of the third round. Here’s to day six!
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