MELBOURNE, Australia — Defending champion Madison Keys struggled early but held on to defeat Oleksandra Oliynykova and her offbeat style of game 7-6 (6), 6-1 in a first-round match Tuesday at the Australian Open.
Ninth-seeded Keys, playing in her 50th Grand Slam tournament, dug herself into a deep hole at Rod Laver Arena. She trailed 4-0 in the first set and rallied to force a tiebreaker against the Ukrainian.
Oliynkyoka, playing in her first Grand Slam main draw, also raced to a 4-0 lead in the tiebreaker but failed to cash in on two set-point opportunities.
“Obviously I was very nervous at the start,” Keys said. "As nervous as I was . . . I’m really glad to be back, and that I got through that match.”
Keys praised Oliynykova, who signed autographs, accepted loud applause, and waved a Ukrainian flag on the court following her match on the center court at Melbourne Park.
Different strokes
Oliynykova kept Keys off-stride, particularly in the first set, with unusual sequences of shots, including high lobs, that forced Keys deep behind the baseline. The Ukrainian's strong defense and unorthodox play also kept her in the match early.
“A little bit more of like an unconventional style,” Keys said. “I feel like that made things a little extra tricky at the start. I felt like at the end of the tiebreaker I really kind of found my game and then was able to carry that into the second set.”
Oliynykova, who featured a number of facial and other tattoos which she said were only temporary — they wash off — admitted that her style can throw opponents off.
“Since I started my pro year career, I was hearing that I will not be in top 1,000, then in top 500, in top 300, and in top 100.” said Oliynykova, who is ranked 92nd. "All these people telling me that I won’t be able to progress with this game style.
“But, actually, my idea is to do my ‘weird’ things on court, but to be the best player with this type of game. I mean, I saw today that even for one of the best players in the world, it could be really uncomfortable."
Two seeded women’s players were beaten early on Day 3. Indonesia's Janice Tjen beat No. 22 Leylah Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open runnerup, 6-2, 7-6 (1) and Tereza Valentova ousted Australia's top-ranked women's player, No. 30 Maya Joint, 6-4, 6-4.
Former U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens was beaten in the first round by Karolina Pliskova 7-6 (7), 6-2. Stephens, who had to qualify this year, won the U.S. Open in 2017.
Shelton advances
In a match between left-handers, Ben Shelton, a semifinalist a year ago in Australia, overcame Ugo Humbert 6-3, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5) to reach the second round. Shelton was also semifinalist at the U.S. Open in 2023.
The No. 8 seed said it was one of the toughest first-round matches he could have faced, with Humbert ranked No. 33. Humbert had the highest ranking of the unseeded players.
“I thought I stayed really calm today,” Shelton said. “On a court like this, playing Ugo in the first round is a tough draw. I felt I found some of my better tennis late in the match.”
Fifth-seeded Lorenzo Musetti advanced when Raphael Collignon retired in the fourth set. The score was 4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5, 3-2 when the Belgian player quit because of cramping and dizziness.
Also advancing were Eliot Spizzirri, who beat rising star Joao Fonseca, the 19-year-old Brazilian, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, No. 15 Karen Khachanov and Sebastian Baez, who outlasted Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3.
Night session
In night matches, two-time defending men's champion Jannik Sinner faced Hugo Gaston of France and two-time Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka was scheduled to play Antonia Ruzic of Croatia.
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