Out in round one

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Stefanos Tsitsipas has to pack his bags early.(Bild: AFP/APA/WILLIAM WEST)

First sensation at the Australian Open: Stefanos Tsitsipas lost his first round match and has to go home early.

The world number 12, who reached the final in Australia in 2023, lost 5:7, 3:6, 6:2, 4:6 against the American Alex Michelsen, the number 42 in the ranking.

Tsitsipas thus missed out on reaching the second round for the first time since 2018.

"I felt I didn't have enough power in my stroke today, so I played a bit more and had to try two or three times harder on every single point to win it," explained Tsitsipas after the defeat. The 26-year-old is still searching for his former top form. Tsitsipas was already eliminated in the opening round at last year's US Open.

"I tried to stay calm"
For Michelsen, however, the victory was a milestone. "I just tried to stay calm," said the American. He knew "that it would be a battle in the end. The serve let me down a bit in the fourth set, but I'm very happy that I managed it."

Alex Michelsen(Bild: Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Sinner and Swiatek confident
Despite the debate surrounding their positive doping tests, tennis stars Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek have made a successful start to the Australian Open. The Italian defending champion showed nerves of steel in his opening match against Chile's Nicolas Jarry on Monday, winning 7:6, 7:6, 6:1. "He's an incredible player with huge potential," said Sinner, paying tribute to his strong-serving opponent. "I'm very happy how I mastered a very difficult situation in the first two sets." The US Open champion landed his 16th match win in a row, his 15th at a major on hard court. In the second round, Sinner will face the Australian wildcard player Tristan Schoolkate. The Polish world number two Swiatek, who is allowed to compete in Melbourne after serving her doping ban in the fall, won 6:3, 6:4 against the Czech Katerina Siniakova.

Swiatek could become world number one again in Melbourne, but would need early outs from defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff to do so. Neither of them did her the favor in round one at least. After top favorite Sabalenka had already started with a two-set victory on Sunday, Gauff prevailed 6:3, 6:3 on Monday against her US compatriot Sofia Kenin, who had won the Major at Melbourne Park in 2020.

Austria's only entry in the main singles competitions, Vorarlberg's Julia Grabher, starts the tournament on Tuesday. The 28-year-old's first-round match with China's Wang Xiyu is scheduled as the first match of the day at 1.00 a.m. CET on Court 6.