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The mens top seeds may have fared much better than the womens at this years Australian Open, which has seen some of their best players among them 2nd seed Simona Halep crash out, and without much of a fight.Halep, a resurgent Venus Williams, former No. 1s Caroline Wozniacki and Ana Ivanovic are among the top-ranked names who are now no longer in contention, having lost to younger, less-experienced counterparts, some quite shockingly so.But although the Big Four are all still in the running, as are a number of the top 10s, perhaps the biggest shocker of the Open was the mens 5th seed crashing out in Round 1 for the first time in his career.Here we bring you the 5 biggest upsets from Week 1.
#5 Karolina Pliskova loses to Ekaterina Makarova
Fed Cup winner and 9th seed Pliskova fought Russian ace Ekaterina Makarova for a fourth round berth at the Australian Open. Although the Czech has not yet progressed beyond the third round at a Grand Slam – also her finish this year, she has done well to stay in the top 10 rankings with a series of strong title wins.
Although she has been higher-ranked than her Russian rival, Pliskova had been beaten by her in straight sets on both previous occasions the players had met.
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Makarova, meanwhile, has had her best Slam results in Melbourne, finishing at the semi-finals in 2015, losing in that round to compatriot Maria Sharapova.
The 21st seeded Russian’s key was simply in her more precise game against her Czech rival; with 35 winners to Pliskova’s mere 16 in return, Makarova outclassed her rival to take a 6-3, 6-2 victory.
Makarova’s hopes in the tournament are still alive; she is now due to take on British No. 1 Johanna Konta, who has been in a purple patch herself.
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#4 Garbine Muguruza ousted from the Open
Third-seed Garbine Muguruza of Spain, who was the runner up at Wimbledon last year, having lost to World No. 1 Serena Williams, was up against Czech ace Barbora Strycova, in a match most would have expected the Spaniard to win.
In each of the two previous times the pair had met, Muguruza had taken convincing straight sets victories over her rival.
Seeded the highest she has ever been at a Grand Slam, Muguruza breezed past Annett Kontaveit in the 1st round, taking a 6-0, 6-4 victory over the Estonian in 60 minutes.
After this, she took care of experienced Belgian Kirsten Flipkens, beating her in straight sets as well, 6-4, 6-2. Muguruza had been the cynosure of all eyes, considering she has been tipped by many as a future No. 1 player; and the fact that she had been one of the few standing as several women’s seeds crashed and burned.
At the match against Strycova, however, Muguruza was broken four times, dropping serve as the 48th ranked Strycova steamrolled her 6-3, 6-2.
#3 Simona Halep ousted by Shuai Zhang
The world’s 2nd-best singles player against a qualifier ranked in the mid 100s. Before this match, the result would have been anybody’s guess.
2014 French Open finalist Halep was up against a player on her 15th attempt at winning a singles match at the Grand Slam level – and it seemed a no-brainer that Halep would take victory.
Sadly that was not the case for the Romanian 24-year-old, who was said to be nursing an injured Achilles tendon and recovering from a bad cold.
Illness and fatigue may have been contributors in her loss, but an inspired performance from 133rd- ranked Shuai Zhang saw Halep dispatched in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.
If anyone believed Zhang’s performance was a flash in the pan, she then proceeded to beat another two higher-ranked players – French ace Alize Cornet, who is the 33rd- best player in the WTA rankings, and 51st ranked Varvara Lepchenko – each time with a rousing performance.
She beat all her opponents in straight sets, and next takes on young American challenger Madison Keys, who dispatched former World No. 1 Ana Ivanovic in her most recent match.
#2 Johanna Konta beats Venus Williams
Venus Williams may have since faded in the shadow of younger sister Serena, arguably one of the best to have ever played the game in its long history.
But many forget Venus was once World No. 1 and played some scintillating tennis herself, both with and against her 21-Grand Slam winning sister.
After a number of years in relative obscurity and not much form, a period during which, she revealed, she had been seriously fighting an autoimmune disorder that she continues to battle with, Venus came back strongly last year to win the WTA Elite trophy at Zhuhai and with it, re-enter the top 10 rankings.
Ending the year as World No. 7, Venus was on a high going into the year, but lost the plot somewhat as she suffered two losses to lower-ranked players at exhibition matches, then ousted from the ASB classic, where she was the top seed, by young challenger Daria Kasatkina.
Up against British No.1 Johanna Konta, Venus was completely outplayed in every regard, in what many appear to put down to fatigue.
Konta took just under 80 minutes to dispatch Williams in straight sets – 6-4, 6-2, to progress.
24-year-old Konta’s hopes are still alive and well at the Open; she is now due to play her fourth round match against 21st seed Ekaterina Makarova, having beaten Denisa Allertova and Shuai Zhang in straight sets, with clinical victories along the lines of the one she took over Williams.
#1 Rafael Nadal loses to Fernando Verdasco in Round 1
Compatriots, friends and Davis Cup teammates, Verdasco and Nadal played a long 5-setter at the Australian Open – and unexpectedly, it was Verdasco who came out on top.
In the 17 times they had played one another prior to their Round 1 match, Nadal had beaten Verdasco a staggering 15 times. Between his ranking, experience and that head-to-head record, Nadal would have been expected to take the win.
The pair have played each other at the Australian Open before –their 2009 match also went to five sets, but that had gone the way of Nadal, who eventually beat Roger Federer to the title that year.
At their 2016 match, however, Verdasco displayed a tenacity and perseverance most associate with Nadal. Winning the first set, the lower-ranked Spaniard appeared to lose his composure somewhat., losing the next two sets in quick succession.
Verdasco also committed 90 unforced errors during the 5 sets to Nadal’s 38, which paled in comparison.
A combination of strong hitting from Verdasco and Nadal’s serve lacking both power and precision meant Verdasco would win 7-6(6), 4-6, 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 with Nadal, for the first time in his long career, not moving past the first round at the Australian Open.
Verdasco may have since crashed out himself, beaten by Israel’s Dudi Sela, but in his short Australian Open run pulled off the tournament’s biggest upset.
To watch the highlights of the memorable match between Rafa Nadal and Fernando Verdasco, visit SonyLiv.com here or watch it on the app.
What is the foot injury that has troubled Rafael Nadal over the years? Check here
