Australian Open Tennis Live: Day One at Melbourne Park – Schedule, Start Time, Live Stream and How to Watch

Welcome to the first day of the Australian Open 2021. On a day of highly successful first-round matches, the very different Open began dramatically with another hotel quarantine furor.

The action on the court promises to be just as dramatic when the action begins at 1pm (New Zealand time). You can watch the latest updates below and watch the action live on Sky Sport, or stream it through Sky Sport Now.

6:00 p.m.: Monfils breaks down at a press conference

French star Gael Monfils became the highest-profile victim on Day 1 of the Aussie Open, caught off guard by Emil Ruusuvouri.

The World No. 10 fell in five grueling sets to Finnish rival 3-6 6-4 7-5 3-6 6-3 in a devastating new low for his troubling drop in form.

Monfils has yet to win a match since tennis returned from its forced suspension by the pandemic.

An emotional Monfils burst into tears during his post-match press conference as he tried to explain his struggles to regain his best form.

“I would like to get out of this nightmare but I can’t,” he said.

“I do not feel well.”

5:10 pm: Controversy when the wild man returns from the dead

Australian John Millman has been knocked out in a five-set marathon rollercoaster with Frenchman Corentin Moutet that erupted into drama.

Moutet was enraged during a furious tirade at the end of the second set and destroyed his racket after a heated exchange with the chair umpire.

When a controversial network call didn’t go his way and he conceded the third set, Moutet was found dead in the water.

With Millman winning two sets to one, Moutet dropped into his courtside seat and appeared to take a little nap before the fourth set.

Despite self-destructing during his ongoing feud with the chair umpire, the 21-year-old rallied in the fourth set to send the match into a decisive fifth set.

Moutet had a running battle with the chair and at one point was heard asking if the referee was “proud” to hit him with an unsportsmanlike code violation.

The drama soared again in the third set, won by Millman, when the Australian flirted with the net cord while earning a crucial point.

Millman was quick to find a ball that landed on his side of the net and a desperate lunge ended up bouncing over the net for a clear winner.

However, Millman had to try to open the breaks before crashing into the net while his ball was still alive.

Millman displayed incredible athleticism and balance to tiptoe away from the net as his weight and torso leaned over his opponent’s side of the net.

Despite Moutet’s complaints, Millman won the point and captured the third set just minutes later.

However, Moutet showed incredible struggle to secure the crucial break in the fifth set and walked away with a grueling 6-4 6-7 3-6 6-2 6-3 victory after nearly four hours on the court.

2pm: The crowd cools off at Open

Strange photos of the crowd at Melbourne Park have shown a very different Australian Open.

With a crowd of spectators capped at 30,000 and masked spectators forced to segregate into secluded areas of Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena and John Caine Arena, the usual off-court festive atmosphere has been replaced by a calm and disconcerting atmosphere.

The Victorian government confirmed last week that masks would be mandatory in venues considered to be indoor stadiums, meaning fans will have to wear masks when moving through Rod Laver Arena when the roof is closed. They will not have to put on the mask when sitting in their designated seat.

Despite the excitement for the first grand slam of the year to come in the face of the extraordinary challenge of creating a safe big event for Covid-19, there has reportedly been a cold response from Melbourne locals.

Channel 7 reporter Nick McCullum posted on Twitter Monday that ticket sales have been “slow from day one.”

1:00 p. M: Angry Open Star Slip

Australian Open star Paula Badosa has dealt a further blow to the hotel’s quarantine program following her positive test for Covid-19 in a total lockdown.

The Spanish star claims that the Australian authorities treated her as a “criminal” and described the experience as a “nightmare” and horrible.

The incredible claims come just days after Badosa apologized for her earlier complaints about the conditions she was enduring locked up in Melbourne.

She became the first tennis player on the tournament roster to have a confirmed positive test and did not come out of her isolation period until Thursday, just four days before the start of the Open.

Now she’s back flipping, complaining about how she was treated after testing positive.

‘It was a nightmare. They treated me as if I were a criminal, they transferred me from one hotel to another escorted by policemen, “he told the Spanish publication. The country.

She said officials should have had a better backup plan for the tennis players and officials who tested positive at the lockdown.

“They should have raised better conditions to deal with the cases, knowing that some players and support staff would test positive,” he said.

Badosa previously claimed that tournament officials changed the rules on players after they had already arrived in Australia, after she was on one of the flights that included a passenger who tested positive upon landing in Australia.

“At first the rule was that the positive section of the plane that was with that person had to be quarantined. Not the entire plane,” he wrote in a tweet that was later removed.
“It’s not fair to change the rules at the last minute. And have to stay in a room without windows and without air.”

10.30: Djokovic ‘doesn’t respect’ Kyrgios

World number one Novak Djokovic said on Sunday he had little respect for Nick Kyrgios’ off-court antics after the polarizing Australian recently called him “a tool.”

Kyrgios has fought an ongoing battle with the Serb as of late, sparked by Djokovic’s ill-fated series of Adria Tour displays last year as the coronavirus pandemic raged.

After criticizing his “stupidity” when several participating players contracted Covid-19, Kyrgios also quickly intervened when Djokovic was sensationally disqualified from the US Open for hitting a lineswoman in the throat with a ball.

Djokovic said he had mixed opinions about the Kyrgios fuel.

“Off the pitch, I don’t have much respect for him, to be honest,” he told reporters before kicking off his campaign at Melbourne Park on Monday.

“That’s where I’ll close it. I really don’t have any more comments for him, his own comments for me, or whatever else he’s trying to do.”

10am: Andy Murray ‘fucks’ the officers

Andy Murray claims that he and his family contracted coronavirus due to lax Covid-19 protocols, which ruined his Australian Open before he could travel to Australia.

In a furious blast against tennis officials in Britain, the double Wimbledon champion accused the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Association of “putting people in grave danger” with relaxed Covid-19 biosecurity measures.

Sun reports that Murray is furious after at least one member of his family also tested positive for the virus.

“I couldn’t have picked it up anywhere else. It hadn’t left my house or the NTC for ten weeks. And obviously there were some positive cases there,” he said.

“I followed all the protocols. I was very careful because it is not just for tennis reasons. None of my team understood it.”

“I was the only one who picked it up and none of my family had it before me.
“So how we behaved there suggests that we weren’t misbehaving, otherwise I imagine one of them would have picked up on me. I feel very comfortable with how I behaved.”

Calendar

Day session (from 1pm):

Naomi Osaka (3) defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) 6-1 6-2

Corentin Moutet (FRA) defeated John Millman (AUS) 6-4 6-7 3-6 6-2 6-3
Alex Bolt (AUS) defeated Norbert Gombos (SVK) 6-2 6-2 4-6 6-3

Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS) defeated Misaki Doi (JPN) 6-2 6-1

Serena Williams (United States) [10] defeated Laura Siegemund (GER) 6-1 6-1

Dominic Thiem (AUT) [3] Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) leads 7-6 6-2

Marcos Giron (USA) v Alexander Zverev (GER) [6] 7-6

Ayrna Sabalenka (BLR) [7] at Viktoria Kuzmova (SVK)

Night session (from 9pm):

Frederico Ferreira Silva (POR) v Nick Kyrgios (AUS)

Lizette Cabrera (AUS) v Simona Halep (ROU) [2]

Dennis Shapovalov (CAN) [11] against Jannik Sinner (ITA)

Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1] against Jeremy Chardy (FRA)