Both Sir Andy Murray and Dan Evans progressed to the second round of the Australian Open on the first day of action in Melbourne, but Aljaz Bedene could not make it a perfect hat-trick.
Murray – aiming for his maiden Aussie Open title after five final defeats – overcame a stuttering start to his tournament to beat Ukraine’s Illya Marchenko in straight sets.
And Evans, at a new career-high ranking of 51 after his final appearance at the Sydney International, matched Murray by overcoming Argentina’s Facundo Bagnis without dropping a set.
Murray is playing his first Grand Slam as the number one seed and World No. 1, but struggled early on against Marchenko, before eventually prevailing 7-5 7-6(5) 6-2.
And the Scot admitted a number of factors could have been behind his relatively slow start to the tournament.
“Yeah, I didn't move that well. That's how it felt anyway,” said the 29-year-old. “But sometimes that can also be down to the conditions, as well.
“The ball's flying through the air a little bit quicker, so the ball is coming onto you faster than what it was the last few days. Maybe wasn't reacting as quickly as I would have liked.
“But, yeah, maybe also nerves there first round as well. It's maybe normal to feel a little bit slow on your feet or a bit heavy-legged in the first round.”
Marchenko hit 46 winners to Murray’s 25, but the Wimbledon champion’s consistency is what proved key with the Ukrainian hitting 62 unforced errors, while the Brit racked up just 27 in the 2 hour 47minute match.
The three-time Grand Slam champion now faces Russia’s Andrey Rublev in the second round, after he beat Chinese Taiper’s Yen-Hsun Lu in four sets, and is determined to go all the way in the tournament, in order to keep hold of his new status as World No. 1.
“It’s been great. I think because it's taken me so long to get there, obviously I want to try to stay there, but also I feel like I'm mature enough now to handle it,” Murray added.
“Maybe if it happens when you're very young, you might feel extra pressures, the responsibilities might feel a bit much.
“But I think because I'm much older and more mature, it's been good.”
Murray will be joined in the second round by Evans, who won a first round match in Melbourne for the first time.
Coming into the tournament high in confidence, the man from Birmingham save set points in the opener, before sweeping past Bagnis 7-6(8) 6-3 6-1.
Evans will face 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic in the second round, after he scraped past Jerzy Janowicz in five sets.
But there is no place in the second round for Bedene, who lost to the Dominican Republic’s Victor Estrella Burgos 6-7 5-7 6-0 3-6.
Day two’s action sees Johanna Konta, Naomi Broady, Heather Watson and Kyle Edmund all kick off their singles campaigns.
Sportsbeat 2017