It was in doubt for a second there, but Dylan Alcott bounced back from a tight first set loss to defeat Dutch player Neils Vink.
Vink won the first set 7-6, stunning the seven-time Australian Open champion, before he regained his composure, and eventually went on to win 6-7 6-4 6-2.
🔝 performance from the top seed 👏@dylanalcott begins his final tournament by defeating Niels Vink 6-7(1) 6-4 6-2.#AusOpen · #AO2022
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 23, 2022
🎥: @wwos · @espn · @eurosport · @wowowtennis pic.twitter.com/OKyXvo5fim
Vink fought admirably, but Alcott reigned supreme in the first game of his final Australian Open, as he seeks to win eight straight matches.
There was some concern towards the end of the match that Vink had suffered a somewhat serious wrist injury, but to his credit, he pushed through to finish the match.
Alcott announced late last year that this campaign would be his final, as he looks to move into retirement.
That was sensational @DylanAlcott … continue to inspire. What a crowd @AustralianOpen #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/N5k2UKHKaN
— Luke Dennehy (@LukeDennehy) January 23, 2022
Earlier in the week the Australian, who last year achieved a ‘golden slam’ (all four major slams and an Olympic Gold medal), said that he is excited to see the sport continue to grow in his absence.
“The quality of all the tennis players here is unbelievable. I’m excited to see what happens here after [I retire],” Alcott said.
“I know there’s seven guys hoping to put me in an early retirement,” referring to the seven competitors that join him in the Open.
But Alcott has already survived one of their advances, and will now prepare to face Englishman Andy Lapthorne, who dispatched of his opponent Donald Ramphadi in straight sets.
