Australian Open, Day 2: Rafa Nadal Sails To Second Round; Lleyton Hewitt Falls In Epic Five-Setter

Scores and highlights from Day 2 of the 2011 Aussie Open.

• No. 3 Kim Clijsters def. Dinara Safina 6-0, 6-0.

Yeeowch. Even the way Safina’s been struggling lately, there’s no excuse for this. According to the WTA, a world No. 1 has never been shut out following the attainment of the top ranking. Clijsters felt so guilty afterwards that she actually apologized in the post-match press conference:

It’s a rare occasion when a first-round Australian Open match can keep American viewers up all night chewing their fists, but on Day 2 of the 2011 Aussie Open, we’ve already seen it happen, with No. 27 David Nalbandian of Argentina defeating Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-1), 9-7 in a five-hour epic.

In the predawn hours of Tuesday morning on the East Coast, patrons actually attending the Australian Open were enjoying a balmy summer evening, and settling in for the final match of the night: Native Hewitt taking on a ranked opponent on Rod Laver Arena. We said in our rooting interests preview that Hewitt could flame out in the first round and it wouldn’t surprise anyone, and what we got was a flame-out, but viewers were treated to quite the fireworks show along the way. Even as the play clock neared the five-hour mark, Hewitt’s serve was recorded in excess of 190 mph. Long points characterized the match, though the night wasn’t without its share of well-timed aces. The officiating was largely level-headed throughout, though Nalbandian did get away with some racket histrionics in the fourth set. An apparent nagging leg injury to Nalbandian piled on the drama as the minutes wore on. And as is his wont, Hewitt changed his shirt three or four times, a series of images destined to become desktop wallpaper for swooning fans the world over.

The fourth set ran long, with Nalbandian winning 7-6 (7-1), but the fifth set hung on long enough for the rest of the country to enjoy the final minutes with the morning paper. Nalbandian ground out a 9-7 final-set victory over a raucous home crowd that gamely cheered Hewitt’s trudging away from the court, setting a high bar for entertainment the rest of the way through the tournament. Nadal, Murray, and Söderling all won their first matches hours before, but it’s 54th-ranked Hewitt that will be the talk of the day in Melbourne.

Stay tuned to this StoryStream for more on Day 2 of the 2011 Aussie Open, and visit SB Nation’s The Daily Forehand for more tennis news and analysis.

Scores and highlights from Day 2 of the 2011 Aussie Open.

• No. 27 David Nalbandian def. Lleyton Hewitt, 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-1), 9-7.

If you didn’t see this match you might not get why it’s right up top, but you just had to be there to see it: a five-hour barn-burner filled with cerebral play and high emotion from a hometown crowd for Australia’s own Lleyton Hewitt. This is his third first-round elimination on his native soil in the past decade. Nalbandian draws Lithuania’s Richard Berankis in Round 2.

• No. 1 Rafael Nadal def. Marcos Daniel 6-0, 5-0.

You thought Rafa’s draw was easy before? His Brazilian elder statesman opponent retired from Rod Laver Arena late in the second set with an injury to what appeared to be his left knee. Nadal will face American Ryan Sweeting in second-round play.

• No. 4 Robin Söderling def. Potito Starace 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.

A sterling Name of the Year candidate falls in straight sets to the Swede in Margaret Court Arena. Söderling has what looks to be another cakewalk in Round 3, facing Giles Muller of Luxembourg.

• No. 5 Andy Murray def. Karol Beck 6-3, 6-1, 4-2.

Another top seed has a path cleared for him, as Slovakia’s Beck retired in the third set with a shoulder injury. The frequently put-upon Brit gets Ukraine’s Illya Marchenko in the second round.

• No. 13 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Philipp Petzschner 4-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.

A three-set comeback sends the sturdy Frenchman to the second round to face Italy’s Andreas Seppi.

• No. 20 John Isner def. Florent Serra 6-3, 7-6 (10-8), 6-3.

That second set almost got away from the young American, but no matter: On rolls Isner, to just his second time in the second round of the Aussie Open, where he’ll meet Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic.

• Juan Martin Del Potro def. Dudi Sela 7-6 (15-13), 6-4, 6-4.

Del Potro’s back in the bigs, and after a wacky first set that lasted as long as some of the ladies’ matches, he advances to take on the alliterative Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus.

• Michael Russell def. Matthew Ebden 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (11-9).

You don’t know this, but you care because this is an American defeating an Australian. We’re conquesty like that. Russell gets No. 7 David Ferrer next, however, so enjoy his presence while you can.