Australian Open: First round witnesses American wipeout, NextGen storms in
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No. 13-seeded Sloane Stephens had a chance to serve for the match in the 10th game of the second set but dropped her serve. She was outplayed in the tiebreaker and in the third set. (IN PIC: United States' Sloane Stephens makes a return to China's Zhang Shuai during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championships.) (Photo | AP)U.S. Open finalist and No. 11-seeded Kevin Anderson was the highest-ranked man eliminated, losing in five sets to Kyle Edmund, the only British man in the draw after five-time finalist Andy Murray withdrew. (IN PIC: Britain's Kyle Edmund, right, is celebrated by South Africa's Kevin Anderson in their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championships.) (Photo | AP)No. 10-seeded CoCo Vandeweghe, a semifinalist here and at the U.S. Open last year, who was feeling sick and frustrated in her match which Timea Babos rallied to win 7-6 (4), 6-2. (IN PIC: United States' CoCo Vandeweghe makes a backhand return to Hungary's Timea Babos during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championships.) (Photo | AP)No. 16 John Isner of the U.S. lost in four sets to Australian Matt Ebden. (IN PIC: United States' John Isner makes a forehand return to Australia's Matthew Eden during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championships.) (Photo | AP)Russian Rublev overcame Spanish veteran David Ferrer in five sets to advance to the next round. It was a merited win for Rublev over the tigerish Ferrer, who was an Australian semi-finalist in 2013, the same year he lost to Nadal in the French Open final. (Photo | AP)Rublev claimed 13 service breaks and hit 77 winners, 40 of them coming off his strong forehand, but offset by 91 unforced errors. (Photo | AP)Rising star Denis Shapovalov showcased his exciting skills in an impressive straight sets first-up victory. Shapovalov, the 50th-ranked left-hander, reeled off a 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in just under two hours in his first appearance in Melbourne. (Photo | AP)
