Sixteen Americans began play on day two down under and at the end of the day, ten Americans advanced to round two.
2 Disturbing American Losses
Sloane Stephens continues her downward slide. While the talent is still there, one wonders “What is blocking her from playing at the level that got her to major finals?” Of course, her block may be a complicated mixture of factors, which only Stephens and a few may know. I hope to see her playing at the level she is capable of once again. I will have to wait though because Stephens lost to [26] Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) 4-6, 4-6.
Sam Querrey lost to [31] Lorenzo Sonego (ITA) in straight sets. The Italian won 7-5, 6-4, 6-4.
Embed from Getty ImagesOther American Losses On Day 2
Tennys Sandgren put up some resistance in the first set; however, that was short lived. [21] Alex de Minaur (AUS) weathered the charge and came away with 7-5, 6-1, 6-1.
I was quite upset to see Lauren Davis lose; however, she was up against the talented [11] Belinda Bencic (SUI). She fought and pushed Bencic to three sets. Bencic regained her focused and won 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.
Eighteen-year-old [163] Whitney Osuigwe, after qualifying, watched her dream of advancing to round two of a major for the first time disappear. Lin Zhu of China steam rolled her 6-1, 6-1.
Christina McHale’s best years seem to be behind her. While twenty-eight is not old, time is dwindling for the American to make her move on the biggest stages. Nadia Podoroska won 6-4, 6-4.
American Successes Down Under
[4] Sofia Kenin defeated the Australian wild card, [133] Maddison Inglis, 7-5, 6-4. Interestingly, Inglis got off to a great start, but as so often happens, she could not keep the lead.
Embed from Getty Images[22] Jennifer Brady defeated [102] Aliona Bolsova (ESP) 6-1, 6-3.
[40] Danielle Collins defeated [96] Ana Bogdan (ROU) 6-3, 6-1.
[48] Coco Gauff defeated [58] Jil Teichmann (SUI) 6-3, 6-2.
[57] Shelby Rogers defeated [245] Francesca Jones (GBR) 6-4, 6-1.
[61] Jessica Pegula got a nice victory today, she upset [12] Victoria Azarenka (BLR), 7-5, 6-4. Azarenka was obviously not feeling well and needed a medical timeout, which did not help.
[85] Madison Brengle defeated the Australian wild card, [169] Arina Rodionova, 6-1, 6-2.
[53] Tommy Paul got a nice victory over the mercurial and talented [40] Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO). Paul won 6-4, 7-6 (0), 6-4.
American qualifier, [177] Michael Mmoh, had a battle against [202] Viktor Troicki (SRB). Mmoh won 7-6 (3), 6-7 (3), 3-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5.
[192] Mackenzie McDonald defeated [82] Marco Cecchinato (ITA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
Embed from Getty ImagesHow Other Seeds Fared On Day 2
[2] Rafael Nadal (ESP) played today, and his back was not one-hundred percent; however, he managed to get the straight-sets victory 6-3, 6-4, 6-1.
[12] Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP), [13] David Goffin (BEL), [26] Hubert Hurkacz (POL), and [30] Daniel Evans (GBR) all lost their first-round matches.
