Novak Djokovic opened his defense of the Australian Open title on Monday with a 6-3, 6-1 and 6-2 victory against Jeremy Chardy in the final match of the first day program at Rod Laver Arena.
Djokovic is looking for a ninth record title in Melbourne, where there are stark differences compared to previous tournaments in the first Grand Slam of the year.
Whether it’s mandatory face masks for all fans, quarantine codes on almost any visible surface or simply the absence of line assistants on the court, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced all kinds of changes around the world.
Melbourne Park grounds have been divided into three “fan zones”, with hand sanitizer stations proving to be more popular than the famous Aperol Spritz bar. The Rod Laver Arena, with 15,000 seats, was about a third full for Djokovic’s game, arguably the biggest crowd in a major tournament in a year (Wimbledon was off the calendar in 2020, while the United States Open was without fans and less than 1,000 were allowed at the French Open). The state government is allowing up to 30,000 fans a day, but no court can have more than 50% of the capacity.
“It’s great to see you back at the stadium. It makes me full of heart,” Djokovic told the crowd in his post-match interview. “This is the largest number of people I have seen on the tennis court in 12 months. I am very grateful. There is an ongoing love affair with me and this court, Rod Laver Arena. We will continue.”
Djokovic produced another masterclass in Melbourne, earning 91 points against Chardy’s 52 and an impressive 86 percent of the points when he landed his first service. He ended a star-studded Day 1 on the central court with Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams, Dominic Thiem and Simona Halep advancing easily before the end of Monday.
“It is obviously not a crowded crowd as I am used to,” said Williams, 23 Grand Slam winner. “But at the same time, having any kind of audience – playing in New York where there was no audience – is definitely a good thing.”
Almost all the selected players advanced to the second round, with Venus Williams, Alexander Zverev, Petra Kvitova, Stan Wawrinka, Bianca Andreescu and Nick Kyrgios winning their first matches. The only American man sown, No. 27 Taylor Fritz, also advanced. The 23-year-old Californian passed Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6). It is the first time since 2015 that only one man from the USA is among the 32 best players on the field in Australia.
The best-ranked players to fall on Monday were Frenchman Gael Monfils, tenth ranked, who lost in five sets to stranger Emil Ruusuvuori, while former Aussie Open champion Angelique Kerber was eliminated 6-0 and 6- 4 for American Bernarda Pera.
Kerber cited his fifteen days of quarantine at the hotel as the reason for his lack of form; she was one of 72 players who were forced to isolate themselves in their hotel rooms in Melbourne for two weeks after infections were reported on three charter flights to Melbourne. Players could not leave their rooms to train.
“To be honest, I wasn’t feeling the pace I was before two weeks ago,” said Kerber. “I was really trying to be positive, but you feel it, especially if you play the first game in a Grand Slam against an opponent who is not in the hard block.”
Rafael Nadal and the city’s favorite, Ashleigh Barty, lead the schedule for the first round of Day 2 in Melbourne (coverage starts on Monday at 7pm on ESPN2, ESPN + and the ESPN app).
ESPN reporter Jake Michaels and The Associated Press contributed to this report.