Round 1 at the Australian Open is in the books, and the tournament favorites are looking sharp. WTA Insider looks back at the storylines developing and what it all means as the first major of the year unfolds.

Top Performers

Ashleigh Barty: The World No.1 reeled off 11 consecutive games in her dominant opening win over Lesia Tsurenko, winning 6-0, 6-1. She's now won 41 consecutive service games and has not been broken in four straight matches. Next: Lucia Bronzetti.

Naomi Osaka: The defending champion continues to impress in Melbourne. She looked sharp through much of her 6-3, 6-3 opening win over Camila Osorio. And when the plucky Colombian put on the pressure in the second set, Osaka calmly held her at bay. Next: Madison Brengle.

Iga Swiatek: Like Barty, Swiatek won 11 straight games in her opener, defeating Harriet Dart 6-3, 6-0. After falling behind an early break, Swiatek stayed calm, swung freely and coolly took care of business. Next: Rebecca Peterson.

Barbora Krejcikova: Coming off a quick turnaround from Saturday's three-set final in Sydney, Krejcikova played flawlessly to defeat Andrea Petkovic 6-2, 6-0. Few are talking about the Czech as a title favorite, but the French Open champion looks ready to add to her major tally. Next: Wang Xiyu  

Anett Kontaveit: The Estonian continues to take care of business and play top-quality, business-like tennis. An opening draw against Katerina Siniakova could have been tricky, but Kontaveit pocketed a 6-2, 6-3 win with ease. Next: Clara Tauson.

Surprises

Wang Qiang def. No.18 Coco Gauff, 6-4, 6-2: Wang is a former US Open quarterfinalist and stunned Serena Williams in Melbourne two years ago. But now ranked outside the Top 100, the Chinese star had not played much after the Olympics last summer. Meanwhile, Gauff came into the tournament playing well, having made the semifinals in Adelaide and narrowly losing out to Madison Keys. 

[WC] Maddison Inglis def. [23] Leylah Fernandez, 6-4, 6-2: The Australian wildcard played a fantastic match to earn her first main-draw win at a Slam. Inglis served at 75% and saved all three break points she faced. But as Fernandez confessed after the match, this was a bad day at the office for the Canadian star, who misfired on 30 unforced errors. 

No.2 Aryna Sabalenka def. [WC] Storm Sanders, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2: Yes, this is an odd result to flag as a surprise, but Sabalenka's severe serving woes coming into the tournament seemed to telegraph an early exit. But after falling behind a set and a break to Sanders, Sabalenka willed herself to the win and might have exorcised some demons along the way.  

No.9 Ons Jabeur withdraws: There was a lot to like about the Tunisian's start to the season, which saw her defeat Kvitova for the first time, in Sydney. But the back injury that forced her to retire against Kontaveit in the next match didn't heal in time, and the former quarterfinalist had to withdraw before her first round match. 

Key Takeaways

  • The Group of Death remains intact: With Barty, Osaka, Bencic and Anisimova winning, the top quarter remains the one to watch. Bencic's second-round duel with Anisimova could be a tipping point considering Bencic's 3-0 record against Osaka at the tour level. The winner of that match will face either Osaka or Brengle in the third round, with the winner potentially facing Barty in the Round of 16.
  • Maria Sakkari benefits from Jabeur's withdrawal: No.5 seed Sakkari now becomes a clear favorite for a quarterfinal slot. The two seeds remaining in her section are Jessica Pegula and Veronika Kudermetova.
  • Madison Keys is one to watch: Keys built on her Adelaide success with a fantastic performance to defeat 2020 champion Sofia Kenin in straight sets. With Gauff also exiting this quarter, Keys could be the one to emerge from the fourth section of the draw, which is anchored by Sydney champion Paula Badosa. More on Badosa's status below.
  • Raducanu-Halep remains on track: The two could have faced each other in Cluj and Linz last fall, but the matches never materialized. Third time's a charm? Raducanu faces Danka Kovinic and Halep faces Beatriz Haddad Maia next. The winners will face in the third round. 
  • There will be a first-time Australian Open quarterfinalist: With Angelique Kerber exiting the bottom quarter, there will be at least one new Australian Open quarterfinalist out of a group that includes Aryna Sabalenka, Marketa Vondrousova, Kaia Kanepi, Marie Bouzkova, Hailey Baptiste, Maddison Inglis, Liudmila Samsonova and Wang Xinyu.

Feel-good stories

Sam Stosur: The Australian great extended her singles career Tuesday with an inspired comeback, defeating American wildcard Robin Montgomery 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-3. Next: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Ana Konjuh: The former junior No.1 is into the second round of a Slam for the first time since 2017 Wimbledon. The Croat came through a tough opening draw against Shelby Rogers, winning 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. Next: Danielle Collins.

Notable numbers

6: Seeds out after Round 1 - No.9 Jabeur, No.11 Sofia Kenin, No.16 Kerber, No.18 Gauff, No.20 Kvitova, No.23 Fernandez.

15: Aces struck by Madison Keys in her win over Kenin, the most in the first round. 

2: Players who advanced to the second round after staving off match points: Irina Camelia Begu and Elena Rybakina. 

0: Losses in 2022 for Barty, Osaka, Halep and Amanda Anisimova in 2022.

4: Points lost by Emma Raducanu in her 17-minute first set against Sloane Stephens.

1: First-round match that lasted more than three hours: Danka Kovinic's 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 win over Korea's Su Jeong Jang. The 3-hour, 9-minute match is the longest match of the season so far.

Bits and Bobbles

Wildest score line: Madison Brengle def. Dayana Yastremka, 6-0, 1-6, 5-0 (ret.). 

Doing what they do: When it comes to "unseeded and looming," Romania's Sorana Cirstea and Estonia's Kaia Kanepi continued their seed-slaying ways. Cirstea repeated her 2021 Wimbledon feat of knocking out No.20 Petra Kvitova in the first round 6-2, 6-2, and Kanepi ousted No.16 seed Angelique Kerber 6-4, 6-3. 

Cause for concern: Sydney champion Paula Badosa fought off Ajla Tomljanovic, 6-4, 6-0, in the first round Monday, but the Spaniard needed a medical timeout to strap her upper leg. 

Best Quote

Q: On Instagram a couple days ago you posted that you don't give a blank about what people say about you.

Naomi Osaka: Dang, you saw that? I deleted it like three minutes after (laughter).