Melbourne, Australia-Black American tennis stars made a commanding presence at this year’s first Grand Slam, the Australian Open.
Frances Tiafoe was the pacesetter with a decisive win over hometown favorite Jason Kubler in straight sets, 7-6, 6-3, 6-2. He faces Argentinian super star Francisco Comesana in round three.
In a post-match interview, Tiafoe expressed his strong desire to end the U.S. men’s drought in winning Grand Slams. An American man hasn’t scored a major win since Andy Roddick lifted a men’s singles trophy in 2003 when he won the US OPEN.
Despite the drought, Tiafoe says he doesn’t feel a sense of urgency. “I still don’t think it’s a pressure thing. Again, I’ve played Ben [Shelton] in the quarters of a slam (US OPEN 2023 and 2024).
“Me and [Taylor] Fritz played in the semis,” he went on. “Fritz made a final. Ben made semis here.”
But that was a year ago, an eternity in tennis.
Speaking of which, Shelton scored mightily against France’s Ugo Humbert, 6-3, 7-6, 7-6 to advance to the second round.
“Playing Ugo in the first round is a tough draw. I felt I found some of my better tennis late in the match, “he said in a courtside interview.
It was a battle of the lefties that gave real meaning to the term “Grand Slam.”
The pair electrified the crowd at Rod Laver Arena with a match that displayed fire power on both sides of the net.
Shelton, who lost to eventual champion Jannik Sinner in last year’s semi-finals, blasted through the first set with the Frenchman coming back from a break down in the second.
Shelton came back in the tiebreak, while Humbert stumbled into error never-never land.
It was a horse race neck and neck in the third set with Humbert taking the lead. Shelton hit a couple of wild shots before going for broke at match point to take the win.
He’ll face home qualifier Dane Sweeny in the second round.
On the women’s side, 2025 AO champion Madison Keys kicked off her title defense against Ukraine ‘s Oleksandra Oliynykova, with a decisive win at the Rod Laver Arena.
The 30-year-old Keys showed that last year’s win was no fluke as she glided
with ease into the next round in straight sets. She’ll face Ashlyn Krueger in an all-Stars ‘n Stripes battle in the next round.
What promised to be the comeback of the new year for seasoned veteran Venus Williams’s turned into a deflating loss.
Although the crowds support for Venus was loud, Serbia’s Olga Danilovic, ranked 69th in the world, dominated the second set.
Just when Williams appeared headed for a breakthrough, the chance slipped away as Williams lost the next six games in a row. Danilovic closed out the match.
The crowd gave Williams a standing ovation. As she walked off the John Cain court, she told an interviewer, “I felt lifted up by the spirit of the crowd,” despite the loss.
Over on Show Court Arena, Sloane Stephens suffered a humbling loss to Czechia’s Karolina Pliskova, 7-6, 6-2. It was especially so since the 2017 US OPEN champion had to go through “qualifies” to make the cut– something she hadn’t done since 2011 at the Australian Open.
Stephens sat out most of the 2025 season recovering from a right foot stress fracture.
Stephens told a post-match news conference “I’ll probably forego the Middle East swing and pick the season back up at the WTA 500 in Merida, Mexico in late February. “
She also plans to compete at Indian Wells and Miami as well as at the beginning of the clay court swing in Charleston.
“I’m going to do that and see how I hold up, how I get on, and go from there,” Stephens said.
