Aus Open: Rublev tames Thiem; Sabalenka, Garcia stroll

Fifth seed Andrey Rublev brought an end to the Australian Open campaign of former Grand Slam champion Dominic Thiem in the opening round on Tuesday when he overpowered the Austrian 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 on a sweltering John Cain Arena. Thiem, a finalist at Melbourne Park and US Open champion in 2020, is on the comeback trail after a wrist injury and was able to compete only to a certain extent against the power of the rangy Russian. In a match studded with high quality rallies between the two baseliners, Rublev broke for a 5-3 lead in the opening set, for 5-4 in the second and, after a huge roar, for 2-1 in the third. Thiem was simply unable to get a foothold in the contest and the 25-year-old Rublev, a quarter-finalist at the Australian Open in 2021, served out for the match after little more than two hours on court. “We are really good friends and I know he is going through not so easy times … and I hope he can get back to the level he belongs as fast as possible,” Rublev said of the former world number three. “It’s super hot today so I’m super happy I was able to win in straight sets and save some energy for the next match. “The hotter it is, the tougher it is to make the right decisions, the tougher to move. When you start to think the other guy is also feeling the same, it’s a bit easier.” Top women’s seeds Aryna Sabalenka and Caroline Garcia spent as little time as possible on Rod Laver Arena in their opening matches at the year’s first Grand Slam. Fifth seed Sabalenka, who opened the year by winning the Adelaide International 1 title without losing a set, kept up her fine form with an emphatic 6-1, 6-4 victory over Tereza Martincova. “It wasn’t that easy a match and I’m super happy to start with a win,” said the Belarusian. “I need to work on my mindset, not getting upset with every mistake I am making, I truly believe that this is the only thing that is missing in my game.” Garcia will next face another Canadian in 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fe