Aus Open: Ruud, Nishikori survive five-set thrillers in opening round

Melbourne, Jan 12 Sixth seed Casper Ruud survived a dramatic encounter on Sunday as the Norwegian overcame a Spaniard Jaume Munar 6-3, 1-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 on Rod Laver Arena to reach the second round at the Australian Open for the fourth consecutive year.

Ruud struck 48 winners to 37 unforced errors and produced his best level in the fifth set, winning 93 per cent (13/14) of his first-serve points to earn a three-hour, 24-minute triumph under the roof on Rod Laver Arena, according to ATP stats.

The 26-year-old Ruud, who is a three-time major finalist, improved his five-set record to 10-6 with the victory and leads Munar 3-1 in the pair’s ATP Head-to-Head series.

However, his best result in Melbourne came in 2021 when he advanced to the fourth round. The 26-year-old will next meet Czech player Jakub Mensik or Georgian qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili.

In other action, Kei Nishikori of Japan rallied from two-sets-to-love down before he saved match points against Brazilian Thiago Monteiro in a first-round epic.

Under the roof on John Cain Arena, the Japanese star was on the brink of falling in straight sets when he faced two match points when serving to stay in the match at 4-5 in the third set.

However, he refused to surrender, hitting 23 winners and committing just eight unforced errors in sets four and five to earn a 4-6, 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 after four hours and six minutes.

Nishikori is into the second round of the Australian Open for the first time since 2019, when he advanced to the quarter-finals in Melbourne for the fourth time.

The 35-year-old, who arrived at the hard-court major off the back of a run to the final at the ATP 250 event in Hong Kong, will next play Tommy Paul or Christopher O’Connell.

Earlier in the day, Frenchman Arthur Fils earned a 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-4, 6-4 win against Otto Virtanen. The 20-year-old will next meet countryman Quentin Halys or Australian Adam Walton.