Anisimova and Pegula Cruise to First-Round Wins in Melbourne

Amanda Anisimova and Jessica Pegula followed the lead of fellow American Coco Gauff on Monday, wasting no time in dispatching their first-round opponents at the Australian Open to join Gauff in the second round. Australian Open: Scores | Draws | Order of play After Pegula cruised past Anastasia Zakharova 6-2, 6-1 in 66 minutes at John Cain Arena, Anisimova one-upped her compatriot, knocking off Simona Waltert 6-3, 6-2 in exactly one hour at Margaret Court Arena. The victory had the No. 4 seed feeling the love afterward. “Thank you, guys,” Anisimova said in her on-court interview. “Thank you for all the love. It’s really, really good to be back here. I feel like it’s my second home here in Australia. I love playing here.” She expanded on that sentiment moments later. “The crowd, the atmosphere, I love how rowdy it gets,” Anisimova said. “Hopefully I’ll be playing some night matches this week. But yeah, it’s just a beautiful city, beautiful courts, and I think every single player shares that sentiment.” Anisimova backed up that affection with a fast start in her “second home,” breaking in the second game to take a 2-0 lead. Waltert broke back immediately, and the two traded holds until Anisimova earned another break for 4-2. She needed three set points but claimed the opener in 35 minutes despite uneven play that was evidenced by the American hitting just five winners to 15 unforced errors. The second set was an entirely different story. Anisimova was nearly flawless, winning all 16 points on serve and appearing in complete control throughout. It was the kind of performance that fuels the belief she could make a deep run -- perhaps even to the final -- in Melbourne, where she sits among the contenders chasing two-time champion and World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. Still, there’s a long road ahead. But the two-time Slam runner-up can take the next to hoisting the trophy with a second-round win over either Katerina Siniakova or Panna Udvardy, neither of whom she has faced in her career. Pegula makes quick work of Zakharova to reach second round After the opening match at John Cain Arena ended with the retirement of Canadian star Felix Auger-Aliassime, Pegula came to the rescue by treating the fans to a clinical performance in which she dropped just 11 points on serve for the match, including only two in the first set. “That was a pretty ideal situation that just happened,” Pegula said in her on-court interview. “So that’s always good, you know. When those come around, you just take it, because I’ve seen a lot of really tough matches the last few days and I’m happy I’m not quite there yet. “So yeah, when you get a good win and you play well, you just got to be happy about it, take it and move on.” The numbers backed up Pegula’s assessment: First-serve percentage: 62% First-serve points won: 78% Second-serve points won: 64% Winners: 20 Unforced errors: 14 Break points won: 6/15 Pegula broke immediately to begin her Grand Slam season, setting the tone for a match in which she held break points in all eight of Zakharova’s service games. Zakharova, ranked No. 105 in the PIF WTA Rankings, managed to fend off Pegula in two service games in the first set. Down 5-1, she saved three set points in a five-deuce game -- including one highlight rally in which Pegula hung a ball around the post to keep the point alive before Zakharova calmly finished with a winner into the open court. But Pegula closed out the set in the next game and never looked back, dropping just one game the rest of the way before sealing the win with a backhand rope down the line. The victory sends her into the Round of 64, where she’ll face compatriot and doubles partner McCartney Kessler. Pegula leads their head-to-head 1-0 after beating Kessler in straight sets in last year’s Austin final.