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Cressy, Keys, Korda score first-round 2022 Australian Open upsets

Victoria Chiesa | January 18, 2022

A total of 17 Americans advanced to Round 2 over the first two days of play at the 2022 Australian Open, with Maxime Cressy, Madison Keys and Sebastian Korda leading the way thanks to first-round upsets against seeds.

 

Kicking off the tournament on Day 1, Keys upended No.11 seed and 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in a tight two-setter, 7-6(2), 7-5, in one of three all-American matches that took place in the opening round. Later in the day, Korda dominated No.12 seed and reigning BNP Paribas Open champion Cameron Norrie of Great Britain with the loss of just seven games, 6-3, 6-0, 6-4.

 

The two Americans couldn't have had more different preparations for the year's first Grand Slam: Korda tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival in Australia and quarantined in Adelaide, while a resurgent Keys went on to win her first WTA singles title since 2019 at that event. Outside the Top 80 in the rankings last week, Keys is now closing in on a return to the Top 50 after missing the Australian swing last year thanks to a positive COVID-19 test.

 

"At this point, every first round is tough, but when you have to go up against a Grand Slam champion, it's never easy," Keys told reporters after the match. "I think knowing that she was going to compete so well, I just had a really good mentality and attitude. I had a couple of opportunities I didn’t really capitalize upon and I was able to reset and continue to play well.

"I had my first real run in a Slam here, I missed last year, so absolutely ecstatic to be back in Melbourne. It would mean the world to have another run here."

 

Tuesday's action saw Cressy, a finalist two weeks ago in the Melbourne 250 tune-up event, defeat No. 22 seed John Isner in another all-American tilt that lasted over four hours, 7-6 (2), 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-7 (5), 6-4. The serve-and-volleying former UCLA Bruin had three match points in the fourth set, but ultimately secured victory by winning the last three games of the decider. Later on Tuesday, No. 21 seed Danielle Collins eased to a 6-1, 6-3 win over Caroline Dolehide to round out the all-American opening round action.

 

Also advancing through to Round 2 were Amanda Anisimova, Hailey Baptiste, Madison Brengle, Taylor Fritz, Steve Johnson, Stefan Kozlov, Reilly Opelka, Mackenzie McDonald, Bernarda Pera, Tommy Paul, Jessica Pegula, Alison Riske and France Tiafoe. Notably, 2020 quarterfinalist and No. 21 seed Pegula won Monday's longest women's match by defeating Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine, 4-6, 7-6(1), 7-5 in 2 hours, 52 minutes; Anisimova came from a set and a break down to defeat Arianne Hartono of the Netherlands, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3; and qualifier Baptiste rallied from 6-4, 5-3 down to beat former Top 10 player Caroline Garcia of France, 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-3.

In Round 2, Brengle will match up against defending champion and No. 13 seed Naomi Osaka, while Melbourne 250 champion Anisimova will look to extend her winning streak to seven against No. 22 seed Belinda Bencic; the winners of the two matches will face off in the third round. Also in the women's top half, Pegula and Pera will play for a spot in Round 3, garaunteeing an American in that round, while Riske bids to upset No.26 seed Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia and Keys continues her tournament against Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania. Baptiste and Collins fly the flag in the bottom half, facing Aussie wildcard Maddison Inglis and Croatia's Ana Konjuh, respectively.

 

On the men's side, wildcard Kozlov faces No.7 seed Matteo Berrettini, the highest seed in the top quarter of the draw after Novak Djokovic's withdrawal. The 23-year-old Kozlov sealed his first-ever Grand Slam win over Czech Jiri Vesely in Round 1, while Berrettini was challenged in four sets by American 20-year-old Brandon Nakashima. Also in this section, Korda faces France's Corentin Moutet, while Paul looks to take advantage in the vaccuum in the top section against Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic, who beat Salvatore Caruso in Round 1—the lucky loser who replace Djokovic. Elsewhere in the top half, McDonald looks to upset No.18 seed Aslan Karatsev of Russia, while No. 23 seed Opelka takes on Germany's Dominik Koepfer.  

 

In the men's bottom half, Johnson squares off against No. 11 seed Jannik Sinner of Italy; No. 20 seed Fritz and Tiafoe duel for a spot in Round 3; and Cressy looks to continue his run against Czech qualifier Tomas Machac.


For more from Melborne, including complete draws, order of play and more, visit the official Australian Open website.

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