The 2013 Australian Open described in detail, in the form of day-by-day summaries.
Day 1 (14 January)
In men's singles, on the opening day, play began with the defending champion and world no. 1,
Novak Djokovic, dismantling Frenchman
Paul-Henri Mathieu.[1] The other top seeds cruised through with 4th-seed
David Ferrer winning over
Olivier Rochus and 5th-seed Tomáš Berdych over
Michael Russell.[2][3] Last year's quarterfinalist
Kei Nishikori also came through over
Victor Hănescu.[4] Former finalist
Marcos Baghdatis struggled to get past Spaniard
Albert Ramos, winning in five sets; another seed in
Fernando Verdasco, who was a former semifinalist, was also pushed to his limits, winning in 5 over
David Goffin.[5][6] All other seeds came through with the exception of 11th seed
Juan Mónaco who lost to
Andrey Kuznetsov after suffering from a back injury. The Australians didn't have a good day with all three that competed in the day losing. The first of which was
Matthew Ebden falling to 23rd seed
Mikhail Youzhny despite leading 2 sets to 0.[7] His exit was followed by Australian wildcard
John Millman who fell also in five to
Tatsuma Ito.[8] In the final men's match of the day, 8th seed
Janko Tipsarević defeated former world no. 1
Lleyton Hewitt in three tight sets.[9]
Matches started at 11:00 am. Night matches did not start before 7:00 pm.
Day 3 (16 January)
In men's singles, It was 4th seed David Ferrer who started things off with a win over American lucky loser
Tim Smyczek.[40] He was joined in the third round by 5th seeded Czech
Tomáš Berdych, who defeated
Guillaume Rufin.[41] Two other seeded Spaniards came through with 10th seed
Nicolás Almagro defeating compatriot
Daniel Gimeno-Traver and former semifinalist Fernando Verdasco who came through with ease against
Xavier Malisse.[42][43] Japanese Kei Nishikori triumph against opponent
Carlos Berlocq to advance to the third round.[44] In the battle of the Americans
Sam Querrey took on
Brian Baker and won when Baker retired when he was leading.[45] Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis came back against Tatsuma Ito recovering from a slow start. The only seed to fall was 23rd seed Mikhail Youzhny, when he lost to compatriot
Evgeny Donskoy.[46] In the final match of the day, 2-time defending champion Novak Djokovic made quick work of American
Ryan Harrison.[47]
In women's singles, day four play began with the defending champion and top seeded Belarusian Victoria Azarenka dismantling Greek
Eleni Daniilidou.[64] Russian 14th seed Maria Kirilenko also got through with a win over
Peng Shuai.[65] American and third seed Serena Williams made quick work of Spaniard
Garbiñe Muguruza; however, Williams had another incident when she hit her face with a racket.[66] Another American Sloane Stephens also got through the 3rd round win over fellow 19-year-old
Kristina Mladenovic.[67] Former world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki also got through with a win over 16-year-old
Donna Vekić.[68] Forty-two-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm continued her run defeating
Shahar Pe'er.[69] In the final match of the day 8th seed Petra Kvitová continues her bad form falling to Australian-born Brit
Laura Robson in a match that had 30 doubles faults combined 18 from the Czech and 12 from the Brit. Other seeds that fell were 17th seed
Lucie Šafářová, 21st seed
Varvara Lepchenko, and 26th seed
Hsieh Su-wei all falling in straight sets.[70]
Matches started at 11:00 am. Night matches did not start before 7:00 pm.
Day 5 (18 January)
In men's singles, day five play began with the defending champion and top seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic who was tested by Czech
Radek Štěpánek in three sets.[72] His fellow Serb and 8th seed
Janko Tipsarević was pushed by Frenchman
Julien Benneteau but won in 5 sets.[73] 16th seed Kei Nishikori cruised pass Evgeny Donskoy after a sluggish start winning in straights.[74] 10th seed Nicolás Almagro made to work hard as well in three over 24th seed
Jerzy Janowicz. Swiss
Stanislas Wawrinka ended the hopes of American tennis in the men's side when he defeated Sam Querrey in tight three sets.[75] South African
Kevin Anderson was the only lower ranked player in the day to win when he defeated 22nd seed Fernando Verdasco.[76] At the night session, 5th seed Tomáš Berdych continues to cruise, winning over
Jürgen Melzer.[77] In the final match of the day Spaniard David Ferrer got into the third round winning over former finalist
Marcos Baghdatis[78]
In women's singles, day five play began with Polish Agnieszka Radwańska defeating British
Heather Watson to continue her undefeated 2013 run.[79] Celebrating her birthday Angelique Kerber got a great present defeating American wildcard Madison Keys.[80] Another German Julia Görges got through the fourth round with a win over Zheng Jie after coming from 4–5 down with Zheng serving for the match.[81] world No.19
Ekaterina Makarova downed French world No.11 Marion Bartoli in three tight sets.[82] In the battle of the Serbs and former world no. 1's Ana Ivanovic dispatched Jelena Janković.[83] China's Li Na continues her good 2013 run with a win over Romania's
Sorana Cîrstea.[84] Belgium's
Kirsten Flipkens defeated Russia's
Valeria Savinykh to advance to her first slam fourth round. In the blockbuster match of the tournament so far, it saw Maria Sharapova defeating Venus Williams with relative ease.[85]
In the Women's Singles, it was 14th seed Russian Maria Kirilenko was the first victor of the day when she defeated 20th seed Belgian Yanina Wickmayer. Another Russian in
Svetlana Kuznetsova got through the 4th round defeating Carla Suárez Navarro[93] World no. 1 and defending champion Victoria Azarenka got her first challenge in the match in American Jamie Hampton winning in three sets.[94] Serena Williams continues her winning streak defeating
Ayumi Morita, winning the last 6 games and saw Williams serve her second 207 km/h serve in the tournament.[95] Another Russian made it through the 4th round in
Elena Vesnina when she upset 16th seed
Roberta Vinci, making it 5 Russians in the fourth round. Dane Caroline Wozniacki is slowly getting into the draw with a win over Qualifier Lesia Tsurenko.[96] In the battle of the youngsters American Sloane Stephens defeated Brit Laura Robson.[97] The dream run of 42-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm came to an end in the third round, with 21-year-old
Bojana Jovanovski taking her out with a loss.[98]
Matches started at 11:00 am. Night matches did not start before 7:00 pm.
Day 7 (20 January)
In the Men's Singles, It was a battle of last year's quarterfinalists 4th seed
David Ferrer and 16th seed
Kei Nishikori, Nishikori lead the head-to-head 2–1, but Ferrer proved to be too strong as he won easily.[100] Ferrer will now face compatriot
Nicolás Almagro who advance to the quarterfinals after
Janko Tipsarević retired when Almagro was leading with a left foot injury.[101] 5th seed
Tomáš Berdych continues his good run and hasn't drop a set in the tournament with a win over
Kevin Anderson[102] The final match of the day was a marathon battle of wills between world no. 1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic and the no. 2 Swiss and 15th seed
Stanislas Wawrinka. It went to five hour and two minutes before seeing Djokovic outlast Wawrinka, and has been rated the match of the tournament so far.[103] Djokovic, showing great stamina, finally got hold of the match in a grueling last set. Wawrinka winning the first set 6–1, proved to be an unexpected competitor to Novak Djokovic. But, in the end, his sustenance was declined.
In the Women's Singles, last year's quarterfinalist
Ekaterina Makarova provided the upset of the day after defeating 5th seed
Angelique Kerber to reach her second straight quarterfinal at the Australian Open.[104] world no. 2 Maria Sharapova continues her dominant force in the tournament with a victory over unseeded
Kirsten Flipkens, which meant she has only lost 5 games en route to the quarterfinals, the fewest since 1988.[105] China's Li Na reaches her first slam quarterfinal since her win at the
2011 French Open when she beat German
Julia Görges.[106] 4th seed
Agnieszka Radwańska continues her undefeated run in 2013 when she got through 13th seed
Ana Ivanovic in another straight sets win.[107]
In the Women's Singles, former world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki took on 2-time slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in a heavily contested match, which saw Kuznetsova prevailing in three sets to be the only woman in quarterfinals not to be seeded.[113] After her third round scare, defending champion Victoria Azarenka made quick work of Russia's Elena Vesnina with a win in just 57 minutes.[114] In a bother of the youngsters it was 19 year old Sloane Stephens and 21 year old Bojana Jovanovski, where the American Stephens came through against Serb Jovanovski in three sets.[115] In the night match it was Serena Williams who claimed her 20th straight victory with a win over Maria Kirilenko, serving an impressive 87% of first serves in.[116]
Matches started at 11:00 am. Night matches did not start before 7:30 pm.
Day 9 (22 January)
In the Men's Singles, The first quarterfinal match of the tournament, between Spaniards 4th seed David Ferrer and 10th seed Nicolás Almagro in the third all-Spanish quarterfinal in the Australian Open. The higher-ranked Spaniard Ferrer came through despite Almagro serving for the match three times at 5–4 in the third, 5–4 in the fourth, and 6–5 in the fourth, though not having match points.[118] In the night match, world no. 1 and 2-time defending champion Novak Djokovic scraped through in 4 sets against 5th seed Tomáš Berdych.[119]
In the Women's Singles, the opener saw Poland's Agnieszka Radwańska take on China's Li Na. It was Li who took control of the match and advance to the semifinals with a win to end Radwańska's 13 match winning streak.[120] In the second quarterfinals, it featured an all-Russian affair with a repeat of last year's quarterfinal between Maria Sharapova and Ekaterina Makarova, with Sharapova once again coming through with relative ease with a win.[121]
In the Women's Singles, the play began with two slam champions Victoria Azarenka and Svetlana Kuznetsova taking on each other. Kuznetsova took a 4–1 lead in the first, but Azarenka took 12 of the last 14 games winning the match.[125] In the other quarterfinal, it was an all-American clash between Serena Williams and Sloane Stephens, providing the upset of the tournament when Stephens defeated Williams.[126]
Matches started at 11:00 am. Night matches did not start before 7:30 pm.
Day 11 (24 January)
In the Men's singles, 2-time defending champion Novak Djokovic took on 4th seed David Ferrer. Djokovic made quick work of defeating Ferrer. Djokovic made 30 winners to 16 unforced errors, while Ferrer made 11 winners to 32 unforced errors.[128]
In the Women's singles, the first semifinal featured two of the most recent French Open champions 2012 winner Maria Sharapova and 2011 winner Li Na. Li came through comfortably winning to advance to her second Australian Open final. Li made 21 winners and 18 unforced errors to Sharapova's 17 winners and 32 unforced errors.[129] In the second semifinals defending champion from Belarus Victoria Azarenka took on American Sloane Stephens. Azarenka came through also with ease winning in her sixth match point despite failing to convert five match points and to serve it out at 5–3.[130]
Matches started at 11:00 am. Night matches did not start before 7:30 pm.
Day 12 (25 January)
In the Men's Singles, it was Wimbledon champion Roger Federer taking on US Open champion Andy Murray. Murray took a two sets to one lead and served for the match at 6–5 in the fourth but Federer broke back and won the tie-break to take it to a fifth. Murray won the fifth set, defeating Federer for the first time in a slam.[131]
In the Women's doubles, the no. 1 team of Italians Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci took on Australian wildcard Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua and won in three sets to win 3 of the last 4 slams.[132]
Matches started at 3:00 pm. Night matches did not start before 7:30 pm.
Day 13 (26 January)
Day 13 saw the finals of the Girls', Boys' and Women's singles as well as the Men's doubles.
Ana Konjuh, who had already won the Girls' Doubles with partner
Belinda Bencic, defeated
Kateřina Siniaková in straight sets to take the Girls' singles title. In doing so Konjuh took the No. 1 junior ranking.[134]
Also in straight sets, Australian
Nick Kyrgios defeated compatriot
Thanasi Kokkinakis to take the Boys' Singles title having not lost a set all tournament. Scans the previous day had discovered a
stress fracture in the left side of Kokkinakis' back, and his movement during the final was reported to be evidently hampered.[135]
In the Women's final, due to her controversial medical time-out in her semifinal match, defending champion Victoria Azarenka's reception onto the
Rod Laver Arena was much more subdued than that of her opponent Li Na. The opening set saw seven breaks of serve in total, with Li Na winning 6–4. During the second set, with Azarenka 3–1 up, Li twisted her left ankle and called the first of two 10-minute medical time-outs. Li was not able to undo her opponent's advantage, Azerenka won the set 6–4 to level the match. The match was also interrupted at the beginning of the third set due to
Australia Day fireworks. Li rolled her left ankle once again on the first point after play resumed, this time also heavily knocking the rear of her head on the court, thus incurring another 10-minute medical time-out. Azarenka broke in the fifth game and maintained the advantage to take the set 6–3 and win the match two sets to one.[136]
The victory was Azarenka's second Australian Open title. In post-match interviews she declared that "This one is way more emotional".[136]
Top seeds
Bob and Mike Bryan defeated Robin Haase and
Igor Sijsling to claim their 6th Men's Doubles Australian Open title and their 13th Grand Slam, surpassing
John Newcombe and
Tony Roche's record for the most doubles majors. Though Haase and Sijsling broke the serve in the opening game, the match was won by the Bryans in straight sets.[137]
Matches started at 12:30 pm. Night matches did not start before 7:30 pm.
Day 14 (27 January)
In the Mixed doubles final, Australian wildcard entries Jarmila Gajdošová and Matthew Ebden defeated the Czech pair of Lucie Hradecká and
František Čermák in straight sets. Two breaks of the Hradecká serve gave the Australians the first set. In the second set Gajdošová and Ebden were a break up, but the Hradecká and Čermák managed to break back. The advantage was recovered in the 11th game, and the Australians won the second set 7–5 after a long return from Cermak.[139]
Defending Champion Novak Djokovic defeated Andy Murray in four sets to take his third consecutive Australian Open title, being the first man in the
Open Era to do so. Murray and Djokovic took the first and second sets respectively, both on tiebreaks. The first break of serve came when Djokovic took the eighth game of the third set. In post-match interviews Djokovic stated he tried to be more aggressive in the third and fourth sets, coming to the net more often.[140]
The match was Djokovic's 21st successive victory at the Australian Open.[141]
Though Murray received treatment for a blister after the first set, he insisted it had no impact on the result.[142] After the match, Djokovic was quoted as saying "I'm full of joy right now. It's going to give me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season."[143][144][145]