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Australian Open 2023 Day 2: Novak Djokovic victorious in return, Andy Murray upsets top 15 seed

Day 2 of the 2023 Australian Open didn't quite go according to plan. Matches started at 7:00pm EST as usual, but several hours later play was stopped due to the extreme heat. Matches continued with the roofs closed at Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena, and John Cain Arena, but matches on the uncovered courts — which is the majority of them — were suspended and rescheduled for Wednesday.

But there are results to share from the second day of Round 1. Read on below to find out what happened on Tuesday in Melbourne, and be sure to check out our Day 1 round-up to catch up on all the action from Monday.

Novak Djokovic notches first Aussie Open win in two years

Novak Djokovic made his grand return to Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday, taking the court for the first time in two years to face Roberto Carballes Baena. It took him just two hours and two minutes to beat Carballes Baena 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 and advance to Round 2.

The last time Djokovic played at Rod Laver Arena, it was 2021 and he beat Daniil Medvedev to win his 9th Australian Open trophy. A lot has happened since then, but Tuesday showed he's the same old Djokovic. Following his win, he thanked the crowd for staying late and being so enthusiastic.

The Aussie Open is where Djokovic shines. He's won more titles in Melbourne than at any other Grand Slam, which is why his absence last year was so major. He has now won 64 straight Round 1 matches at Grand Slams. According to the US Open, that's the equivalent of 16 consecutive years without a loss.

Notable upsets

Andy Murray may be 35, unseeded, and playing with a surgically repaired hip, but he's still got the fire, the desire, and the skills to make a statement at a Grand Slam. He did just that on Tuesday in a grueling win over the 13th-seeded Matteo Berrettini.

Grueling is truly the word to describe it. The match lasted nearly five hours and featured tiebreakers to close out the fourth and fifth sets. It was Murray's 50th win at the Australian Open, putting him in fifth place on the all-time Aussie Open wins list.

How did the Americans do?

Though not all the Americans were able to get their matches in before the heat suspension, it was still a good day for the USA. No Americans lost on Day 2.

No. 8 Taylor Fritz def. Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5

J.J. Wolf def. Jordan Thompson 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5

Shelby Rogers def. Arianne Hartono 6-4, 6-3

Katie Volynets def. Evgeniya Rodina 6-3, 6-2

Tommy Paul def. Jan Lennard Struff 6-1, 7-6(6), 6-2

Jenson Brooksby def. Christopher O'Connell 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2

Ben Shelton def. Zhizhen Zhang 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(4)

Taylor Townsend def. Diane Parry 6-1, 6-1

Other results

Tuesday was another big day for seeded players. All but three of the top 32 in both men's and women's won their matches and moved on to Round 2. Here are the highlights (minus Djokovic and Murray).

No. 2 seed Ons Jabeur started her journey to the trophy with a win over Tamara Zidansek.

Casper Ruud, the No. 2 men's seed, managed to survive a tiebreak-heavy challenge from Tomas Machac.

Leylah Fernandez, the young 2021 US Open runner up, defeated the experienced Alize Cornet in straight sets.

Other winners include Andrey Rublev, Aryna Sabalenka, Alexander Zverev, Holger Rune, and Diego Schwartzman.

What to watch on Day 3

Due to the heat suspension on Tuesday, Day 3 will be the kickoff of Round 2 as well as the final day of Round 1. Here are a few highlight matches that will be played Wednesday:

No. 1 Iga Swiatek vs. Camila Osorio

No. 1 Rafael Nadal vs. Mackenzie Mcdonald

No. 3 Jessica Pegula vs. Aliaksandra Sasnovich

No. 6 Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Alex Molcan

No. 7 Coco Gauff vs. Emma Raducanu

Here are all the Americans playing on Day 3 (all are Round 2 matches unless indicated):

No. 3 Jessica Pegula

No. 7 Coco Gauff

No. 10 Madison Keys

No. 13 Danielle Collins

Bernarda Pera

John Isner (Round 1)

Sloane Stephens (Round 1)

No. 16 Frances Tiafoe

No. 29 Sebastian Korda

Brandon Holt (Round 1)

Alison Riske-Amritraj (Round 1)

Christopher Eubanks

Michael Mmoh (Round 1)

Denis Kudla (Round 1)

Maxime Cressy (Round 1)

Claire Liu (Round 1)

Madison Brengle (Round 1)

Elizabeth Mandlik (Round 1)

Catherine McNally

Lauren Davis (Round 1)