Swiatek, Murray, Rune, Jarry and more: fleeting appearances in Australia

Whether because of their positions in the rankings or the weight of their name in tennis history, the Australian Open has had a handful of players who bid a premature farewell to its courts. Star names who were kicked out of the first Grand Slam of the year before reaching the second week and ahead of rivals who were below their status on paper.

It is in this group that the name of Nicolas Jarry (18th ATP) appears. The Chilean was one of the two seeds eliminated in the first round of the Australian Open, after a cursed match against the player from qualifying, Flavio Cobolli (100th). The 18th in the world failed to close the match with his serve in the fifth set and buried the national illusions of seeing the number one racket in important instances. “Many changes are occurring at the start of the year. Changes that take time, require adaptation, patience and a lot of uncertainty. I must continue to work and not change lines of all the adaptations we make. Trust him and little by little I will feel better and they will be matches where I can do better”, was one of the thoughts of the Chilean, who left the city of Victoria without points and knowing that he will not be able to not replicate the 2023 mark where he won matches in every Grand Slam of the season.

If we now move to the international level, there are two players who, although not favorites in their duels, made headlines for their defeats in the first days. It is Andy Murray (44th) and Naomi Osaka (831st WTA) . While the Scot continues this long journey to once again be among the best, the Japanese has just had her third match after an interruption of more than a year due to maternity. Different realities but the one at least in Melbourne ended the same way: with a bye in the first round.

Osaka is just another step in his return to the circuit. Brisbane and the Australian Open appeared to be the first to have found the necessary rhythm, so at the moment we cannot speak of a setback or a hard blow, because after a year of absence the most normal thing is that she is physically overwhelmed. She thanked the people at Rod Laver and left calmly, knowing that perhaps her decisive test will take place in New York, in the stadium where, as in Melbourne, she won two Grand Slam titles.

But for Murray, it was all pain. Not only because he lost in two sets against the Argentinian Tomás Etcheverry (32nd), but because he himself admitted that it could have been a last point. ” VS.It’s rarely possible that this will be the last time I play here . While the match is being played, you try to control your emotions, stay focused on the points and everything, but when you are one point from the end, I couldn’t believe it was going to end so quickly,” he said. he declared openly. a press conference. The one from Glasgow was clear in saying that nothing had been decided, and after years of fighting with this metal hip and constant relapses, the current 44th in the world could tell him at The venue? Probably Wimbledon, his home and where he won two of his three Grand Slams. His retirement will mark tennis in the 21st century.

A significant fact is that after four days of competition, the Australian Open lost three players from the top ten, all among the women. They are Ons Jabeur (6th), Marketa Vondrousova (7th) and Maria Sakkari (8th). In the case of the Tunisian, she was eliminated in the second round, after losing decisively to the Russian Mirra Andreva, 16, who reached the fourth round. It was 6-0 and 62 in just 54 minutes. The 2023 Wimbledon champion, however, lost in the first round after losing to Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska 6-1, 6-2.

The Greek, for her part, was the last eliminated from the first on Wednesday evening in Melbourne. Surprisingly, she lost twice 6-4 against the Russian Elina Avanesian (74th).

Then comes the most surprising blow for the women’s team: world number one, Iga Swiatek. The Pole (winner of four major tournaments) found himself without a chance in the third round, demonstrating that Australia’s fast courts are among the most difficult . Despite reaching the semi-finals in 2022, his experiences in Victoria have yet to replicate his performances in Paris and New York. Wimbledon is another pending task for the European tennis player, who during the competition showed some problems in her right knee.

If it comes to the top ten, we also cannot leave out Holger Rune, who, although world number eight, also left the Melbourne table before the first week. ANDThe 2022 Paris Masters 1000 champion was eliminated in the second round in front of the big surprise of the event, the Frenchman Arthur Cazaux.

The last name on this list did not make his debut at Melbourne Park, but his absence was nonetheless a negative step for the tournament. Rafael Nadal had only been in the South Australian city for a few hours when he dropped the bombshell on social media: “At the moment, I am not ready to compete at the highest level in five-set matches. . “I’m going back to Spain to see my doctor, get treatment and rest.”

It was the fault of a micro-tear he suffered in Brisbane, in only his third match after last year’s most anticipated comeback. The 22-time Grand Slam winner hoped to be present again in the tournament that he won twice (2009 and 2022) and where he suffered the physical complication that left him without playing an official match for 15 months, but everything came to nothing. He is now working towards possibly returning to the ATP 250 in Doha. After an exhibition against Carlos Alcaraz in Las Vegas and at the Indian Wells Masters 1000 . If there are no problems in the United States, his next stop would be the European clay court tour.