Sabalenka cruises to first round win; Djokovic overcomes Prizmic challenge

Defending champions Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka drew large crowds with contrasting first-round victories over teenagers as the Australian Open began a day earlier than usual on Sunday.

Djokovic, who admitted to feeling under the weather for the past few days, needed more than four hours on Rod Laver Arena to defeat qualifier Dino Prizmic 6-2 6-7(5) 6-3 6-4 and stay on track for his 11th title at Melbourne Park.

Sabalenka had to wait almost until midnight to begin her title defense against Ella Seidel, but the second seed did everyone a favor by easily defeating the German qualifier 6-0, 6-1.

Djokovic's first-round match was the longest he had ever played at a major, and he praised Grand Slam debutant Prizmic for challenging him.

He praised the Croatian, saying, "I mean, I had an amazing opponent tonight."

"For an 18-year-old, he played so maturely and confidently on the court, fighting through, not giving up even when he was four down in the fourth set. I was impressed with his mentality, with his approach, with his game."

Sabalenka was clearly ecstatic to be back at the site of her first Grand Slam victory.

"I'm super happy to be back. The last time I was here I had incredible memories, unforgettable memories," the 26-year-old told the fans who stayed to witness her ruthless 53-minute walloping of Seidel.

"Hopefully, I can stay until the very, very, very last day."

In the first match of the day on the main showcourt, fourth seed Jannik Sinner, who was the hottest player on the men's tour at the end of last season, defeated Botic van de Zandschulp 6-4 7-5 6-3.

Cheered on by the "Carota Boys," a group of fans dressed as carrots, the Italian was far from perfect but finished the contest in three sets.

"I think, to be honest, it was a positive opening match," the 22-year-old said. "Today I felt a little bit of the match feeling, it was important for me."

Fifth seed Andrey Rublev had a much more difficult time reaching round two, being pushed all the way by debutant Thiago Seyboth Wild in a 7-5 6-4 3-6 4-6 7-6(6) victory.

Rublev was clearly enraged by his inability to hold off the world number 78, who fired some sensational shots to frustrate the Russian and gain the support of the Margaret Court Arena crowd.

"I'm not going to forget this match," said the relieved Rublev, who recalled the Brazilian's upset of fellow compatriot Daniil Medvedev in the first round of last year's French Open.

"Thiago is a super dangerous player, he was serving really hard, first and second serves, and hitting the ball really clean."

Taylor Fritz also needed five sets to defeat South American opposition, winning 4-6 6-3 3-6 6-2 6-4 over Argentine Facundo Diaz Acosta in another four-hour marathon.

The addition of an extra day to the tournament to help clear the first round matches left the early schedule lacking in star power.

Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic was the only former women's Grand Slam winner competing in the day session, and the ninth seed came from behind to defeat Japanese wildcard Mai Hontama 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Women's eighth seed Maria Sakkari easily defeated Japanese opponent Nao Hibino 6-4 6-1, while 13th seed Liudmila Samsonova was defeated 6-3 6-4 by American Amanda Anisimova.

Sabalenka's next opponent will be Czech qualifier Brenda Fruhvirtova, who defeated Ana Bogdan 2-6 6-4 6-3 to become the youngest winner in the main draw since Coco Gauff beat Naomi Osaka in 2020.

Caroline Wozniacki advanced to the second round after four years away from Melbourne Park, when last year's semi-finalist Magda Linette retired due to injury with a 6-2 2-0 score.

Marin Cilic played his first Australian Open before Fruhvirtova was born, reaching the final in 2018, but he had little to celebrate after losing his 50th match at Melbourne Park to Hungarian Fabian Marozsan 6-1 2-6 6-2 7-5.

SportsLigue