Australian Open Day One: Rain Plays Spoilsport

Amidst rain and winds, the top tennis players of the world battled it out for glory in the 2010 Australian Open. Uncharacteristically, day one of the first Grand Slam of the year was marred by rain, suspending many of the matches, and forcing players to play in little bursts and stretches. Indeed, many of the first day's fixtures could not be completed as per schedule and were pushed to day two of the tournament.

However, the rain did not stop the stars from easing into the second round of the prestigious tournament. Most of the stars, in both, the men's and women's section, made it to the second round without any difficulty. The notable exception on the women's side was the 14th seeded Maria Sharapova, who lost in the first round of a Grand Slam for the first time since 2003. On the men's side, it was the 13th seed, Radek Stepanek, who went down fighting to the unseeded Croatian, Ivo Karlovic.

In the men's singles, the number 2 seed, Rafael Nadal, had no problem making it to the second round, with a straight set victory over Peter Luczak. Similarly, the number 4 seed, del Potro, the number 5 seed, Andy Murray, and the number 7 seed, Andy Roddick also made it with ease to the second round. Other upsets in the men's singles included Sam Querrey, the 25th seed, who lost to Rainer Schuettler of Germany. All other seeds came through as expected, and will now await action in round two.

In the women's singles, the number 2 seed Dinara Safina had a straight set 6-4 6-4 victory over Magdalena Rybarikova to advance to the second round. Third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova and 5th seed Elena Dementieva also made it to the second round with textbook victories over their opponents. Maria Sharapova (14th seed), Virginie Razzano (18th seed), and Dominika Cibulkova (23rd seed) were the seeded players to fall on day one in the women's section. All other seeds advanced to the second round with relative ease and will look forward to day two of the Australian Open.

Roger Federer and Serena Williams, the number one seeds in men's singles and women's singles respectively, will both play on Day Two of the Australian Open. Other fixtures for Day Two will see players like Lleyton Hewitt, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Novak Djokovic, and Marin Cilic taking the courts in the men's singles and Serena Williams, Jelena Jankovic, and Venus Williams taking the courts in the women's singles. Stay tuned for much more action on Day Two of the first Grand Slam of the year, the 2010 Australian Open.