Murray crashes out on day one
 Andy
Murray’s assault on the 2008 Australian Open came to
a premature end when he became the first major seed to exit
the tournament, which started in Melbourne on Monday. Jo-Wilfried
Tsonga defeated the No. 9 seed 75 64 06 76(5) in a match lasting
three hours 14 minutes. Murray came to Melbourne following
victory at the Qatar Open and with a realistic hope of improving
on his fourth round exit last year. However, the British No.
1 succumbed to the 22-year-old Frenchman, ranked 38 in the
world, who will now face American Sam Warburg in the second
round. Other seeds to fall on day one included Carlos Moya
and Juan Ignacio Chela.
A record crowd of 55,855 flocked to Melbourne Park to witness
the opening day of the first Grand Slam of 2008. The No. 2
seed Rafael Nadal overcame a spirited challenge from Viktor
Troicki 76(3) 75 61 to advance to the next round. The 21-year-old
Serbian was a break up in the second set before the Spaniard
asserted his authority on the match and put an end to Troicki’s
first Grand
Slam attempt. Andy Roddick, who won the Kooyong Classic last
week for the third time, cruised into the next round following
a 63 64 75 victory over Czech qualifier Lukas Dlouhy. Another
seed to advance in straight sets was Nikolay Davydenko who
defeated Michael Llodra 75 75 63. Seeds Richard Gasquet, Tommy
Robredo and Mikhail Youzhny also progressed.
Defending champion Serena Williams stormed through following
a straight sets victory over Jarmila Gajdosova and top seed
and World No.1 Justine Henin, who didn’t compete here
last year, made light work of her Japanese opponent Aiko Nakamura
62 62. No. 5 seed Maria Sharapova defeated Jelena Kostanic
Tosicin straight sets to set up an enticing clash with Lindsay
Davenport, whose first round victory saw her surpass Steffi
Graf’s 20- year record to become the biggest prize money-winner
in women’s sport.
No. 3 seed Jelena Jankovic faced a tough challenge in the
form of Austrian teenager Tamira Paszek. The Serbian saved
three match points and came back from 4-1 down in the final
set to take victory 26 62 1210 in a match which lasted over
three hours. It has been 32 years since the home nation won
the Australian Open men’s singles title and the Australian
contingent will be out in force on day two, led by No. 19
seed Lleyton Hewitt. Tuesday also sees Roger Federer start
the defence of his Australian Open title against Argentine
Diego Hartfield. Federer is attempting to become the third
man in history to win a hat-trick of Australian Open titles.
Novak Djokovic and last year’s beaten finalist Fernando
Gonzalez also start their campaigns. In the women’s
draw, world No. 2 Svetlana Kuznetsova will be in action as
she takes on former Australian Open semifinalist Nathalie
Dechy. Seeds Ana Ivanovic, Anna Chakvetadze, Venus Williams
and Daniela Hantuchova will also take to the courts.
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