Australian Open Day 1: Federer, Sharapova and Nadal get underway
MELBOURNE -- Here are the matches to watch on Day 1 of the Australian Open. Play begins on all courts at 7pm ET on ESPN2. Click here for the order of play, and see the full TV schedule here.
Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova headline a star-fueled schedule on Rod Laver Arena
If you have tickets to Rod Laver Arena on Monday, you will get your money's worth. Federer (vs. Yen-Hsun Lu) and Sharapova (vs. Petra Martic) anchor the night session. Play kicks off with No. 3 Simona Halep vs. Karin Knapp, followed by No. 5 Ana Ivanovic vs. Lucie Hradecka, and then No. 3 Rafael Nadal tries to shake the cobwebs as he takes on Russian veteran Mikhail Youzhny. Nadal leads that head-to-head 11-4 and has won their last five matches.
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Grigor Dimitrov and Dustin Brown bring the flash to Show Court 2
Two of the most exciting shot-makers in the game open play on Show Court 2, a court that will feature a great line-up of what should be four compeititive matches. Following Dimitrov and Brown are Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Caroline Garcia, then Tomas Berdych vs. Alejandro Falla, and finished off by Arina Rodionova and Monica Puig.
Nick Kyrgios faces the hype
The 19-year-old comes into Melbourne having played just one match in the last four months, a tight three set loss to Jerzy Janowicz last week a the Sydney International. Hobbled by a back injury, he says is not 100 percent, but the current face of Australian tennis opens his tournament under the lights as the last match on Margaret Court Arena. Expect a spectacle. And I'm not even referring to his current look.
More matches to watch
Ernests Gulbis [11] vs. Thanasi Kokkinakis (fourth match, Show Court 3, not before 2 a.m. ET): Gulbis is ripe for the upset at the hands of the young and talented Aussie. Kokkinakis, ranked No. 147, scored his first Top 20 win at the Brisbane International with a victory over Julien Benneteau. Gulbis lost his only lead-up match of the tournament, a three-set loss to eventual champion Jiri Vesely in Auckland.
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Belinda Bencic [32] vs. Julia Goerges (first match, Hisense Arena, 7 p.m. ET): The Swiss teen is seeded at a Slam for the first time but has just one match under her belt this year, a bad 6-3, 6-0 loss to Daria Gavrilova last week in Sydney.
Viktor Troicki vs. Jiri Vesely (fourth match, Court 7, not before 2 a.m. ET): Troicki is on an eight match winning streak after winning the Sydney International as a qualifier. Vesely is on a seven match win streak after winning the Heineken Open as a qualifier. Something's gotta give.
Borna Coric vs. Jeremy Chardy [29] (first match, Court 15, 7 p.m. ET): 18-year-old Coric has a tattoo on his bicep that reads "There is nothing worse in life than being ordinary." The youngster talks a big game. Now to see if he can back it up.
Bernard Tomic vs. Tobias Kamke (third match, Hisense Arena): With Kyrgios' lightning quick ascension, Australia's last teen prodigy has taken a backseat. But he's playing with improved focus so far this year and maybe the lack of spotlight will be good for him.
