Andrey Rublev defeats Dominic Thiem in Melbourne Opener
Rublev awaits either Emil Ruusuvuori or Australian qualfiier Max Purcell in the second round.
Rublev awaits either Emil Ruusuvuori or Australian qualfiier Max Purcell in the second round.
The Italian Berrettini survived a scare in the second-set tie-break, trailing 1/5 after losing the first set. However, the second seed found his full range just in time, reeling off six consecutive points to clinch the set, before he raced away in the third set to advance after two hours and 16 minutes.
With the victory, Murray improves to 8-1 in first-round matches on the year. He next faces 14th seed Denis Shapovalov, who squeezed past lucky loser Ugo Humbert of France, 7-6(1), 6-3.
The third seed Thiem beat unseeded Kyrgios 4-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to progress to the fourth round of the year's first Major
From second set, Rafael Nadal couldn't think about anything to restrict Daniil Medvedev and squandered another chance to win the ATP Finals.
Thiem displayed his trademark fighting spirit to beat third-seeded Medvedev 6-2, 7-6(7), 7-6(5) in a match that lasted almost three hours.
Thiem had last reached the quarterfinals in New York in 2018 after battling Rafael Nadal for four hours and 49 minutes in an all-time slugfest.
Third seed Williams essayed a signature comeback and served 12 aces to edge past her American compatriot Stephens 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and 43 minutes.
Dominic Thiem converted on 6 of 14 breakpoint chances and finished with 30 winners while Sumit Nagal fired 12 winners and committed 38 unforced errors.
Sumit Nagal maintained a win percentage of 80 per cent on his first serves in the first set during which the experienced American made 15 unforced errors.