Rafael Nadal is back on the Grand Slam stage. Great start for Gael Monfils

In his first Grand Slam match since Roland Garros 2021, Rafael Nadal confidently beat Marcos Giron and advanced to the second round of the Australian Open. Gael Monfils and Pablo Carreno also began their struggle in Melbourne with big victories.

PAP / EPA / DAVE HUNT / Pictured: Rafael Nadal

After giving up Wimbledon’s foot due to injury and the US Open, Rafael Nadal made his first appearance since Roland Garros 2021 at the start of the Grand Slam tournament. The Spaniard is back on the biggest tennis scene with a glorious victory. In the first round of the 2022 Australian Open, Marcus defeated Giron 6:1, 6:4, 6:2.

Still on Monday, he showed very well and had no major problems on the court. He quickly moved into a higher gear and scored seven games in a row from 1: 1, leading 6: 1, 2: 0. He played the second game calmly and won it 6: 4, but in the third game he again left his opponent without illusions, winning 6: 2.

“The past few months have been difficult and with a lot of doubts I still have,” the Spaniard said in the interview, which was conducted on the field, which for him was the 70th match of the Australian Open. “But I’m here and I couldn’t be happier because I’m playing on this great stadium again and in front of the fans.”

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The 35-year-old Nadal (seven aces, five breaks, 34 goals on Monday) is fighting for his 21st Grand Slam title in Melbourne. If he did, he would be ahead of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic and become the all-time singles leader. In the second round, the Spaniard will face the best of Thansi Kokinakis – Yannick Hanfmann.

Gael Monfils in good condition. The Frenchman, who won the tournament in Adelaide in the first week of the season, started the Australian Open with a 6:1, 6:1, 6:3 victory over Federico Correa. Another competitor to the “17” Monfils would be Alexandre Bublik. The Kazakh defeated the “lucky loser” Ernesto Escobedo in the qualifying round.

The other seed, Pablo Carreno, did not lose a six on Monday. The Spaniard, in the tournament “19”, defeated 6:1, 6:2, 7:6 (2) qualifier Thomas Martin Echeveri. In the 1/32 final, Carreno will play Talon Grixpur. The Dutchman also won smoothly (6:1, 6:4, 6:4) over Fabio Fognini.

Cameron Norrie, No. 12, dropped out. The Briton lost 3:6, 0:6, 4:6 to Sebastian Korda, who spent a week in isolation after arriving in Australia due to a positive coronavirus test. 21-year-old American will fight Corentin Mutet in the third round. The Frenchman eliminated his compatriot Lucas Pouille, the owner of the wild card.

Dominic Kupffer also advanced to the final 1/32. After nearly two and a half hours of skirmishing in four sets, the German turned out to be better than Carlos Taberner.

Australian Open, Melbourne (Australia)
Grand Slam, Hard Court, A$75 million prize pool
Monday January 17

First round of singles:

Rafael Nadal (Spain 6) beat Marcos Giron (USA) 6-1, 6-4, 6-2
Gael Monfils (France 17) beat Federico Correa (Argentina) 6-1, 6-1, 6-3.
Pablo Carreno (Spain, 19) over Tomas Martin Echevere (Argentina, Q) 6-1 6-2 7-6 (2).
Sebastian Korda (USA) beat Cameron Norrie (Great Britain 12), 6-3, 6-0, 6-4
Talon Grexbourg (Netherlands) beat Fabio Fognini (Italy) 6-1, 6-4, 6-4
Dominic Kupfer (Germany) v Carlos Taberner (Spain) 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
Corentin Mutier (France) beat Lucas Pouille (France) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.
Alexander Bublik (Kazakhstan) – Ernesto Escobedo (USA, LP) 3:6, 7:6 (5), 6:3, 6:3

Men’s Championship Program and Results

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