Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Novak Djokovic and Ons Jabeur were among the notable men's and women's players, respectively, to advance on Day 2 of the 2023 Australian Open on Tuesday in Melbourne.
Unbearable heat and strong rains penetrated the grounds of the tennis Grand Slam throughout Day 2, with temperatures nearing 100 degrees F before the clouds darkened and soaked the courts below.
More than a dozen matches were suspended, with some pushed into Wednesday. Play was allowed to continue on covered courts.
Jabeur, the highest-seeded (No. 2) women's player in action, weathered first-round foe Tamar Zidansek of Slovenia in three sets. The Tunisian logged 28 winners, 49 unforced errors and converted 6 of 10 break points in the 7-6(8), 4-6, 6-1 triumph at Rod Laver Arena.
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"I just tried to give it my all and not leave anything behind," Jabeur told reporters, when asked about the decisive third set of the victory.
The 2022 U.S. Open and Wimbledon finalist will meet American Alison Riske-Amritraj or Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic in the second round.
No. 4 Carolina Garcia of France, No. 5 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and No. 9 Veronika Kudermetova of Russia were among the other Top 10 women to advance on Day 2. Americans Shelby Rogers, Katie Volynets and Taylor Townsend also advanced Tuesday in Melbourne.
On the men's side, Djokovic dominated Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena in straight sets in his first Australian Open match since 2021. The Serbian No. 4 seed, who missed the 2022 Australian Open due to his unvaccinated status, totaled four aces, 16 winners and converted 3 of 5 break points in the 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 win.
Djokovic will face Enzo Couacaud of France or Hugo Dellien of Bolivia in the second round.
"I feel very happy that I'm back in Australia and back here on the court where I have had the biggest success of my career," Djokovic said in an on-court interview.
No. 2 Casper Ruud of Norway, No. 5 Andrey Rublev of Russia, No. 8 Taylor Fritz of the United States and No. 9 Holger Rune of Norway were among the other Top 10 men's players to win on Day 2. England's Andy Murray also ousted No. 13 Matteo Berrettini of Italy in a five-set match, which lasted nearly five hours.
Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton, Jenson Brooksby and J.J. Wolf were among the other American men to advance.
Second-round coverage will air from 2 to 5 p.m. EST Tuesday on ESPN2 and resume at 7 p.m. on ESPN+ and ESPN3. Additional coverage will start at 9 p.m. on ESPN2.
