Ruud called the Australian event his favorite
of the Grand Slams, and he said he felt a quick start was
important.
"It's warm out there (Tuesday), so I didn't want to spend too
much time in the sun," he said.
Even with such taxing conditions, Ruud added that the atmosphere
"makes it all worth it, with the crowd and how good Melbourne is
as a city and the fans down here, so it's great to be back."
Other seeded players that won their matches on Tuesday included
No. 19 Cameron Norrie of Great Britain and 32nd-seeded Czech
Jiri Lehecka. Both pulled off sweeps, with Norrie blanking
Peru's Juan Pablo Varillas 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 and Lehecka topping
Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.
Lehecka finished with 33 winners in his victory, while Norrie
tallied 30.
Tallon Griekspoor, a Dutch player seeded 28th, rallied to beat
Russia's Roman Safiullin 2-6, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4, 7-5 in a match
that lasted nearly four hours.
American Alex Michelsen knocked out Australian wild card James
McCabe 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. French wild card Arthur Cazaux
and countryman Arthur Fils also prevailed on Tuesday, as did
qualifier Giulio Zeppieri.
--Field Level Media
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