* !Picby Pete Bodo*
In tennis, as in the game of chess, the opening moves are almost always made by pawns. The Australian Open is the first Grand Slam event of the year, which means that almost all the players see the tournament as an annual fresh start.
Everyone has a clean slate in January, so the first major is a platform for establishing, maintaining, or polishing up an identity for the year. That's all well and good, but the circumstances also create a certain amount of pressure, self or externally imposed. Experienced veterans—especially champs—understand all that and usually handle it well.
But youngsters can be impetuous (sometimes too much so) while veterans with, well, "issues" can be vulnerable—or hellbent on regaining lost territory.
So let's take a look at how some of the pawns fared on Day 1, starting with the ATP:
Bernard Tomic d. Fernando Verdasco (No. 22): The 19-year-old Aussie prodigy had a breakout tournament at Wimbledon (l. in quarters to champion Novak Djokovic) last year, and he's bolted from the gate this year—semis at Brisbane, and he won the star-packed exibition at Kooyong last week. You probably couldn't cook up a more intriguing first-round match-up for Tomic than Verdasco, a former Top 10 player who's lost the plot recently but remains an explosive shotmaker with a solid history Down Under. Tomic did a superb job keeping his determination and focus high even though he lost the first two sets. He won it in five, and grows more convincing almost by the day.
Grigor Dimitrov d. Jeremy Chardy: Pundits and insiders have tossed Dimitrov's name around with a measure of awe and anticipation for a few years now, but the 20-year-old Bulgarian hasn't had a Tomic-like breakthrough yet. Last year in Melbourne, he qualified and won a round. Dimitrov needed a good start, and he drew a beatable player who can be dangerous when he hits a streak, and at No. 82 ranked just four places below Dimitrov. Like Tomic, Dimitrov got through it in five sets, 4-6, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2, 7-5.
Donald Young d. Peter Gojowczyk: Young had a career year in 2011, and ended up with a No. 39 year-end ranking. Young is just 22, but true to the drama that has informed his seemingly Methusalan career, Young once again made waves when he decided to return to his mother Ilona for coaching. In Gojowczyk, Young was playing a guy his own age, but considerably less successful: The German qualifier is ranked No. 248 and this was the first tour-level match of his career. Young won the first two sets easily, but his game fell apart for the next two. Young must have felt enormously relieved when he won the fifth set with relative ease, 6-2.
Sam Querrey d. Kenny de Schepper: It may seem odd to find Querrey's name in this group, given that he's been ranked as high as No. 17. Well, he's No. 95 now, and struggling to stay in the Top 100 as he tries to re-group after struggling with injuries as well as an accompanying loss of confidence. Querrey was 0-2 on the year arriving in Melbourne, and while qualifier de Schepper is ranked just No. 135, when you're in Querrey's shoes there's no such thing as an easy day in office—at least not in your own eyes. And that's as it should be. Querrey won it going away, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
WTA:
Agnieszka Radwanska (No. 8) d. Bethanie Mattek-Sands: When it comes to determination and enthusiasm, nobody surpasses No. 67 Mattek-Sands, who can rightfully rue the fact that she had a very tough first-round assignment. To make matters worse, Radwanska finished 2011 on a high note and took out No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki en route to the semis of Sydney, her warm-up tournament. Mattek-Sands put up a great fight, hitting 81 winners from all over the court, but Radwanska held fast and Mattek-Sands eventually punched herself out. Radwanska made just 13 unforced errors as she won, 6-7 (10), 6-4, 6-2.
Jelena Jankovic (No. 13) d. Laura Robson: Think of Robson as the WTA's and UK's answer to Donald Young. She seems to have been among us for ages, although she won't even turn 18 until next week. She still has plenty of time to develop into an impact player, but she was unable to take advantage of Jankovic's up-and-down nature. The former No. 1 bliltzed Robson, 6-2, 6-0. Perhaps Robson took some consolation for the fact that her countrywoman, 19-year-old Heather Watson, was beaten even worse by third-ranked Victoria Azarenka, 6-1, 6-0.
Christina McHale d. Lucie Safarova (No. 24): I don't know if the published stats at the AO are reliable, but they say that the lone unforced error in the entire match was committed by Safarova, who also had only two winners—two fewer than the no less anemic four by McHale. Those stats suggest that this was a very high quality baseline battle that was ultimately won by McHale's ability to force more errors (translation: dish up more challenging shots for Safarova to field and answer). McHale won it, 6-2, 6-4.