Novak Djokovic opened his Australian Open title defense on Monday with a 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 win against Jeremy Chardy in the final match of the first day program at Rod Laver Arena.
Djokovic is looking for a record ninth title in Melbourne, where there are big differences from previous tournaments in the first Grand Slam of the year.
Whether it’s mandatory face masks for all fans, quarantine codes on just about any visible surface, or simply the absence of line people on the field, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced all kinds of changes around the world.
The Melbourne Park grounds are split into three “fan zones”, with hand sanitizing stations proving to be more popular than the famous Aperol Spritz bar. The 15,000-seat Rod Laver Arena was about a third full for Djokovic’s game, arguably the largest crowd at a major tournament in a year (Wimbledon was not on the 2020 calendar, while the US Open went fanless and less than 1,000 were allowed) at the French Open). The state government allows up to 30,000 fans per day, but no court can have a capacity greater than 50%.
“It’s great to see you at the stadium again. It gives me heart,” Djokovic told the audience in his post-match interview. “These are most of the people I’ve seen on the tennis court in 12 months. I’m very grateful. There’s an ongoing love affair with me and this court, Rod Laver Arena. Let’s keep going.”
Djokovic produced another masterclass in Melbourne, winning 91 points against Chardy’s 52 and a whopping 86 percent of the points when he first served. It was his 14th straight win over Chardy.
He concluded a star-filled Day 1 at center court with Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams, Dominic Thiem and Simona Halep all moving up easily for Monday’s final.
“It’s clearly not a crowded crowd like I’m used to,” said Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam winner. “But at the same time, it’s just nice to just have some kind of audience – play in New York where there was no audience.”
Just about every seeded player advanced to the second round as Venus Williams, Alexander Zverev, Petra Kvitova, Stan Wawrinka, Bianca Andreescu and Nick Kyrgios all won their openers. The only seeded American man, No. 27 Taylor Fritz, also came forward. The 23-year old Californian got past Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6). It is the first time since 2015 that only one man from the US has been among the 32 best players in the field in Australia.
The highest-placed players to fall on Monday were 10th-seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils, who lost in five sets to unknown Emil Ruusuvuori, while former Aussie Open champion Angelique Kerber was set against American Bernarda Pera 6-0, 6-4 .
Kerber cited her fortnight in hotel quarantine as the reason for her lack of form; she was one of 72 players who had to isolate their Melbourne hotel rooms for two weeks after contamination was reported on three charter flights to Melbourne. Players were not allowed to leave their rooms for training.
“To be honest, I didn’t feel the rhythm I had before the two weeks,” Kerber said. “I really tried to stay positive, but you can feel it, especially when you play the first game in a Grand Slam against an opponent who doesn’t stay in the hard lockdown.”
Rafael Nadal and hometown Ashleigh Barty lead the schedule of the first round of Day 2 in Melbourne (coverage starts Monday at 7pm ET on ESPN2, ESPN + and the ESPN app).
ESPN reporter Jake Michaels and The Associated Press contributed to this report.