Australian Open 2026 as it happened: Olga Danilovic denies Venus Williams in comeback win on day one; Alcaraz, Sabalenka cruise into second round

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That’s all we have for you, but we will be back with our day two live blog late in the morning.

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No.1 seed Carlos Alcaraz is happy with his opening round win but wants to improve his tactics and preparation as his Australian Open campaign continues in round two.

Alcaraz took a nine-week break at the end of last season and is still finding his feet in the next season, but he feels strong heading into the second round.

“Well, I think I hit the ball well,” Alcaraz said on Sunday night.

“I could be better for sure. I just happy because I think the things that I had to do, I did it pretty well in terms of myself, behave well, just good mindset all the time.

“Every time trying to think in positive thoughts all the time. So I think I did it pretty well, which was one of the main goals for me coming into this match.

“Then in terms of level, tactics or everything, I know that I have a lot of things to be better in the next round if I want to go further.”

Young Australian player Adam Walton will never forget his clash with Carlos Alcaraz on Rod Laver Arena, even though he went down in straight sets on Sunday night.

The 26-year-old who is ranked 81 in the world said he would take plenty from the match, especially the second set which went to a tiebreak.

But for the former University of Tennessee star, playing on the top court of Australia’s grand slam was a special occasion and it lived up to his expectations.

“Yeah, it was a special moment to be able to walk out on that court. I don’t know. Hopefully, I get to do it again. You know, I will cherish that moment to be able to walk out on Rod Laver Arena,” Walton said late on Sunday.

“It’s been, yeah, I guess a dream. You know, when I decided to start playing professional tennis after college, to be able to play on a big court against a big player, and especially at home to play on Rod Laver, I think that’s a moment I will never forget.”

I have to admit I’m impressed with how long Carlos Alcaraz stuck around on court after his three-set win tonight.

The Spanish superstar remained for a little less than 10 minutes to sign autographs for fans who flocked to the edge of the bottom level, some yelling out “Carlitos” which is his nickname.

For a fella who is chasing the Australian Open title, that is a long time to stay around.

All power to him.

Carlos Alcaraz has praised Aussie opponent Adam Walton and declared himself in great condition heading into the second round.

He spoke to Jim Courier after his win tonight.

On the match:
“I’m just really, really happy to step on the court once again for the first time of the season, officially. And I think it couldn’t be better. You know, stepping here in the Rod Laver Arena. So it’s been a good match, I guess. I just felt great. I think Adam, you know, I think [he] pull[ed] off great shots, great level in the match. So, I had to just stay there. I think this kind of level and the difficulties in the first round is pretty good for me, you know, to get ready for the next one. But, overall, I’m just happy. I’m pleased about the level that I played today.”

On Walton’s game and how it challenged him:
“Well, it seems like he doesn’t move that well. But, you know, at the end for me, it was really, really difficult to find, you know, the good spot. It feels like he was one, one step forward on me. But he was always in the good position, you know, long rallies. He was solid from the baseline. And you know his flat ball sometimes it was really difficult for me. It’s a tricky, you know, getting used to the conditions and the court. But I think it was a really solid match. And when he was able to step on the court and play aggressive, I think he did that. That made it really difficult, not only in the second set but in the match in general.”

Russian veteran Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was a quarter-finalist last year, but has just lost a match-tie-break heartbreaker to Chinese qualifier Zhuoxuan Bai after battling for almost three hours.

Pavlyuchenkova is set for a rankings freefall when her points come off from last year.

Bai – who entered the AO at 702 on the WTA rankings – will be the second-round opponent of world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka.

Alcaraz has rolled out some super shots to win his last service game as he tries to complete a win on Rod Laver Arena.

Alcaraz’s drop volley to win the game was superb – the whole crowd went “ohhh” as it landed in, poor Adam Walton could do nothing more than watch it.

The Aussie is giving his all and has some local fans trying to fire him up, but Alcaraz is a superstar, and he’s showing that tonight.

Alcaraz leads 6-3, 7-6, 2-2.