Canadian Vasek Pospisil has been eliminated from the Australian Open, falling in four sets to France's Gilles Simon on Monday in first-round action.
The 25-year-old Pospisil was beaten by his 14th-ranked opponent, 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 2-6, 4-6, in a match that lasted two hours, 47 minutes.
Unforced errors cost the Vancouver native heavily — Pospisil had 55 of them compared to just 18 for Simon.
Pospisil used his powerful serve to win the first set in 45 minutes. He held an 8-0 edge in aces but committed 16 unforced errors.
Trailing 3-1 in the second set, Pospisil called a medical timeout and went through stretching exercises on his lower body with a trainer, but returned to play shortly after. Simon went on to win the set in 52 minutes as Pospisil made 17 more unforced errors compared to the Frenchman's three.
Simon needed only 31 minutes to win the third set and 39 minutes to take the fourth, which ended when Pospisil returned a serve long on match point.
Pospisil held the edge in aces 19-2, and winners 45-12, but was undone by his own mistakes.
Defending champ Serena Williams moves on
Serena Williams won her first-round match, beating Camila Giorgi of Italy 6-4, 7-5 on Rod Laver Arena.
Williams, who just missed a calendar-year Grand Slam in 2015 when she lost in the U.S. Open semifinals, was helped by 12 double-faults by the Italian player, including on break point in the 11th game of the second set to give Williams a 6-5 lead.
The 21-time major champion held her service at love in the next game, including two aces and a service winner, to close out the match in 1 hour, 45 minutes.
Williams appeared to show no soreness from recent inflammation in her left knee.
"It wasn't quick, so that actually worked to my advantage as well," Williams said. "I think I was able to stay in it and stay calm today and I think that's what matters most."
Top-seeded Djokovic cruises to victory
Novak Djokovic took his first steps toward a sixth Open title with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win over Chung Hyeon of South Korea at Rod Laver Arena.
Djokovic won the Australian Open last year — he's a 5-0 in finals at Melbourne Park — lost the French Open final to Stan Wawrinka, then won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open to cap an outstanding year.
Kvitova wins 1st completed match
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova has the distinction of winning the first completed match of the tournament, avenging a loss to Luksika Kumkhum from two years ago.
Kvitova beat the Thai qualifier 6-3, 6-1. In 2014, Kumkhum beat Kvitova in three sets to send the-then sixth-ranked player out of the tournament.
Serving to stay in the match Monday, Kumkhum saved two match points before double-faulting in the breezy conditions on Rod Laver Arena to hand Kvirotva the match in 70 minutes.
Kvitova won her Wimbledon titles in 2011 and 2014. Her best performance at the Australian Open is a semifinal berth in 2012.
Nishikori advances
Kei Nishikori became the first of the seeded men's players to advance to the second round.
The seventh-seeded Nishikori, who reached the quarterfinals last year, beat Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 without facing a break point Monday.
Nishikori struggled with a series of injuries last year, but said he was feeling sharp after his first match in Melbourne.
"It's great to finish in three sets, especially against Philipp. He's always tough to play," Nishikori said. "The body is feeling pretty good. I had a good preparation."
Kohlschreiber, ranked No. 34, was the highest ranked of the men's players who were unseeded at the tournament.
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