Ruud survives, Nishikori wins in five on opening day of Australian Open

The 2025 Australian Open is off and running. It was a deluge for much of the afternoon on Sunday, but action under the closed courts went unscathed and even the outer courts were good to go later in the evening and night. The result was a mostly full schedule of play on Day 1 at the season’s first Grand Slam.

And there was drama to be had. Casper Ruud survived a five-setter in Rod Laver Arena, holding off Jaume Munar 6-3, 1-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 in three hours and 21 minutes. It was the 10th five-set victory of Ruud’s career.

Nobody, though, is a five-set master quite like Kei Nishikori. Playing simultaneously with Ruud in John Cain Arena, Nishikori saved two match points in the third set on the way to overcoming Thiago Monteiro 4-6, 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 after four hours and six minutes.

“It was a really tough one,” the 35-year-old assured. “I almost forgot he had two match points. I tried to stay calm even though I was almost out of the tournament. I just tried to focus on what I can do. I almost gave up–match point and he was playing very good. (in the) first and second sets, he was on a roll. He almost deserved to win. But somehow I fought back.”

Nishikori is 29-8 all time in five-set matches and this marked his fifth comeback from two sets down.

Other winners on opening day at Melbourne Park were Alexander Zverev, Arthur Fils, Ugo Humbert, Tomas Machac, Jiri Lehecka, and Reilly Opelka.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.