Isner, Anderson overcome tough opening round opposition to progress in Melbourne

It was a difficult day for the big-servers of the ATP tour, as both American John Isner and South African Kevin Anderson had to fight from behind to advance in their opening round matches at the 2020 Australian Open.

The towering Isner needed three and a half hours to defeat Thiago Monteiro, claiming their encounter in four tiebreaks 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 7-6(7), 7-6(5). The Brazilian did well to withstand a dozen aces from the American, taking the first set with some very consistent play.

The service barrage continued however, with Isner hitting double digit aces in each set. Although neither man was able to convert on break points, it came down to who had the superior serve. Isner prevailed, taking the ensuing sets and booking his place in the second round.

Having recovered from knee surgery that derailed his 2019 season, Kevin Anderson required almost four hours to overcome Belaruisan Ilya Ivashka. The former Wimbledon finalist emerged victorious in 5 sets, 6-4, 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(8). The unseeded Ivashka took advantage of Anderson's inconsistency but was unable to close out the match, despite having less unforced errors than the South African in the final set (9 to 19).

Croatian Ivo Karlovic was also in action on Tuesday, defeating Canadian Vasek Pospisil 7-6(4), 6-4, 7-5 to advance to the second round. Joining him will be former top 10 player Gilles Simon, who defeated recent ATP Cup participant Pablo Cuevas 6-1, 6-3, 6-3.

In another matchup involving unseeded players, Belarusian Egor Gerasimov fought past Norway's Casper Ruud in five sets, 6-3, 7-6(6), 1-6, 4-6, 7-6(6). He will face World number 7 Alexander Zverev in the second round. Spain's Pedro Martinez also advanced, defeating German Dominik Koepfer 6-3,6-4,7-5 to book his place in the next round.

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