Tennis Unfiltered

James Gray and George Bellshaw look back on the second day of first-round action in Melbourne including...

- Felix Auger-Aliassime retires after cramping just two sets into his match against Nuno Borges

- Iga Swiatek is made to work hard by Chinese qualifier Yuan Yue

- Alexandra Eala fans overcrowd Court 6, but it's not a problem the Australian organisers will have to deal with again this year

- Naomi Osaka lifts the lid on her leaving the Evolve agency

- Why hasn't Carlos Alcaraz won the Australian Open yet?

LINKS

- The wild scenes of Parks vs Eala: https://x.com/christianscourt/status/2013099697431298256

- Naomi Osaka talks to Ben Rothenberg: https://www.benrothenberg.com/p/naomi-osaka-interview-australian-open-evolve-img-australian-open-day-2-schedule-preview
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Day 1 of the Australian Open is in the books, a record day at Melbourne Park as more than 100,000 ticketholders streamed through the gates.

The headlines were...

- Qualifier Zeynep Sonmez pulled off the biggest win of her career by knocking out No 11 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova

- Ukrainians Dayana Yastremksa and Marta Kostyuk both also suffered first-round defeats as three WTA seeds fell on Day 1

- Arthur Fery knocked out the only men's seed to lose on Sunday, although Flavio Cobolli called the doctor after one game because of illness and was clearly short of his best

- Emma Raducanu looked like she was in trouble against Mananchaya Sawangkaew but saved break points at 1-3 down and lost two more games in the entire match.

And so much more!

LINKS

Daria Kasatkina interview: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6978334/2026/01/16/tennis-daria-kasatkina-australia-russia/

Putintseva being Putintseva: https://x.com/TheTennisLetter/status/2012724674036183423

FTU League Table: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/125MgiVs97Xnbi9OQ5UdXck-VM2liwwxbQMVxeevJIIY

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James Gray and George Bellshaw are in St Pancras Station. Yes, really. Don't ask why. Anyway, they are going through the Australian Open draw line by line for your entertainment - and to help you pick your fantasy tennis team!

Enter here: https://forms.gle/vMwznVdH4Yh5HgRx8

DEADLINE: SATURDAY 17 JANUARY 11PM BST

The basic concept is simple: predict the quarter-finalists. Do that successfully, and play your captaincy chip right, and you'll win!

Below, you must pick one player from each section of the draw, and hope that they go as far as possible - as well as nominating a men's captain and a women's captain.

(To help you, the players are presented as they are in the draw, so you know who plays who!)

SCORING

Players are split into four categories: Top Seed (a top 8 seed), Minor Seeds (9-32 seeds), Unseeded (self-explanatory) and Bolter (a wildcard or a qualifier).

Unlike previous years, you do not HAVE to pick any qualifier or wildcards - but they will score points more quickly if you do pick a successful one.

Top Seed - 10 points per win

Minor Seed - 15 points per win

Unseeded - 20 points per win

Bolter - 30 points per win

The overall tournament winner also receives a bonus of 20 points.

CAPTAINS

You must select a captain in the men's and the women's draw. Captains will score double points.
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Before anything else, our thoughts this week are firmly with teh family of Damian Kust. Damian was a cherished and passionate member of the tennis community whom we lost at the age of just 26. His work covering the Challenger Tour set him apart, but his passion and knowledge was what really made him shine. RIP Damian. Details of his funeral and donations to the foundation his parents have chosen are here: https://x.com/damiankust/status/2009644081207709969

It always feels utterly empty to follow such profoundly sad news with the mundanity of the week's tennis news. Here is what else Calvin Betton, James Gray and George Bellshaw discussed this week...

Novak Djokovic has pulled out of Adelaide, his only planned warm-up for the Australian Open, saying he is not physically ready for the challenge

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have not played an ATP event yet this year either, but were busy playing an indoor practice match in front of 15,000 people in Seoul, South Korea.

Poland FINALLY won the United Cup, Hubert Hurkacz gaining redemption for spurning two championship points against Alexander Zverev in 2024, beating the German en route to leading his nation to victory...

...but Iga Swiatek's form was far from impressive, and it was Katarzyna Kawa and Jan Zielinski, Luke Johnson's new partner, who were instrumental in securing the title

PLUS: No Australian Open wildcard for Nick Kyrgios; there is one for Stan Wawrinka; titles for Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Bublik, Aryna Sabalenka and Elina Svitolina; Emma Raducanu's return; and OF COURSE *that* wildcard in Nairobi.
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Calvin Betton is in Brisbane but that won't stop him getting on the podcast (even if it does stop him getting any sleep). He joins James Gray for the first half of this week's podcast before subbing out for George Bellshaw, who sleeps soundly in his childhood bedroom in the West Midlands.

They discussed...

- Emma Raducanu pulls out of her season debut (she eventually played Maria Sakkari)... ...and she's testing a new racket

- Stefanos Tsitsipas reveals he considered retirement after battling a back injury last year

- Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Calvin relaunch their defence of the 250

- Novak Djokovic pulls out of the PTPA

- Venus Williams gets an Australian Open wildcard but Nick Kyrgios is made to wait for his

- Katie Boulter links up with a new coach in Michael Joyce

- Iga Swiatek questions why we needed another "Battle of the Sexes"

And finally, could Lionel Messi really win 50 grand slams?!
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