• Australian Open, Day One

Odd socks fail to distract Federer as Nadal gets booed

Fashion statement or superstition? Alexander Kudryavtsev was sporting odd socks on Rod Laver Arena © Getty Images

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Men's round-up: Tomic edges Verdasco in epic
Women's round-up: Clijsters stutters through
Woeful day for Brits in Melbourne
Day One Gallery
What They Said

It's all too black and white
Perhaps he was too nervous to notice before his opening-round match against Roger Federer on Rod Laver Arena, but Alexander Kudryavtsev strolled on court wearing odd socks. Sporting one white sock and one black sock, it sparked a debate on Twitter. Was it laundry day in the Kudryavtsev household or was it a fashion statement? A superstition perhaps...or as one Federer fan quipped, perhaps the outcome was all too black and white.

Dazzling dropper
Bethanie Mattek-Sands passed up six set points to take the opening set. The American of the long socks and Shivnarine Chanderpaul war paint kept coming and won a mammoth 18-shot rally to claim a seventh set point with a stunning drop shot. Power blows were traded before a shift of grip saw Mattek-Sands slide under the ball. It drew in Agnieszka Radwanska who had no answers. And one point later the epic opening set went the way of Mattek-Sands. It was a stunning effort from Mattek-Sands, but it took its toll as she required repeated treatment on a leg problem and was eventually beaten in three sets.

A shrewd challenge
There were few positives for Heather Watson to take from her mauling at the hands of Victoria Azarenka. One of the handful was an excellent forehand that clipped the line for a clean winner. Watson's joy was cut short by an outstretched linesman's arm. The Brit threw her arm in the air to signal a challenge and HawkEye came down in her favour.

Missing the point
Bernard Tomic had the undisputed support of the Rod Laver Arena, but the Australian failed to seize the moment. After dropping the first set to Fernando Verdasco, he rallied well and had set point on his own serve in the second. He set up the point superbly and had an easy put-away on his strong forehand to level the match, but he inexplicably crashed the ball into the net. And a couple of games later, Verdasco was two sets to the good.

Unleash the beast
Tomic has the exuberance of youth on his side and defeat is not something he accepts easily. Despite being two sets down and looking jaded in the heat, Tomic snatched the third, raced through the fourth and showed superb resolve to claim a great comeback win. And he sealed the win in style, producing a quite stunning forehand that flashed past Verdasco in the blink of an eye. There were moments of farce at times from Tomic, but that forehand when he times it right is one of the finest weapons in the game.

Double trouble
Li Na had a crisis of confidence following her stunning win at the French Open last season. She has returned with fresh resolve in 2012 and was well on course to victory over Ksenia Pervak, but she was given a huge helping hand. Pervak had game point to just about keep in touch in the second set, but three double faults on the spin handed Li an advantage she never relinquished.

Gremlins in the system
Rafael Nadal wowed the crowd on the Hisense Arena with a superb straight-sets win over Alex Kuznetsov. The world No. 2 has an army of fans around the world, but was the subject of some unwelcome boos. Don't be alarmed, the boos were not for Nadal but for the PA system that failed to relay his on-court interview to the crowd.

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