VIDEO SHOWS: PRESS CONFERENCE COMMENTS FROM ALEXANDER ZVEREV, ARTHUR FERY, JASMINE PAOLINI AND CORENTIN MOUTET AFTER THEIR WINS AT THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN. SHOWS: MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (JANUARY 18, 2026) (TENNIS AUSTRALIA – See restrictions) 1. THIRD SEED ALEXANDER ZVEREV SETTLING IN FOR THE PRESS CONFERENCE 2. WHITE FLASH 3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ZVEREV SPEAKING ON HIS OPPONENT AND THE WIN: "Yeah, he's a great player. Very young, very talented, very powerful. In the beginning, I was not playing good. You know, I was giving him too many chances, I was too defensive. But the normal stuff that I do in the first round of a Grand Slam sometimes. Happy with the way I played the second, third, and fourth, because I thought that was quite high level for me. Yeah, happy to get the win." 4. WHITE FLASH 5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ZVEREV SPEAKING ON HIM BEING UNHAPPY WITH THE DRAWS: "Yeah, afterwards it's easy to say yes, because I won. But, for example, Wimbledon last year, I lost to a similar player in the first round. Yeah, after you won and after you're through that match, yeah, it's a positive for sure, because you have been tested and you know where you are and you know where your level is at, especially in difficult moments. But before, you know, when the draw comes out and you haven't played, and I'm not sitting here as the winner, it's not, yeah, it's not something is nice or you look forward to. At the end, of course, I was happy with how I took on the challenge and especially how I played the last three sets." 6. WHITE FLASH 7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH QUALIFIER ARTHUR FERY SPEAKING ON HIS WIN OVER COBOLLI: "Yeah, of course nervous beforehand. But at the same time I came through quallies, I'm playing a guy who is way higher ranked than me, so I feel I have nothing to lose. And yeah, felt like I held my nerve really well in the third set. Yeah, it's easy to hold back a little bit when you know you're very close to the finishing line. But, yeah, I felt like I did a really good job today, as in the last round of quallies as well to, yeah, get through it without any real nerves, yeah." 8. WHITE FLASH 9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ITALIAN SEVENTH SEED JASMINE PAOLINI SPEAKING ON HER WIN: "I think I played a solid match. I was focused I think all the time, so it was good. And, yeah, it's not easy to play the first match and the slams on a big court, but I'm happy with my performance." 8. WHITE FLASH 10. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FRENCH TENNIS PLAYER CORENTIN MOUTET SPEAKING ON HIS WIN: "No, I mean, we all have some kind of pain every day, you know, that we have to deal with. So, yeah, I was trying to handle it in the best way possible. I did pretty well. I'm glad that I did well. You know, proud of myself. It wasn't easy obviously. As I said, it's the first match of the year, so it's always hard. We can practice for a long time. We can do whatever we want, but the match is always different. So, yeah, it was a good test." STORY: Alexander Zverev of Germany launched his bid for a maiden Australian Open title with a shaky first-round win over Canadian Gabriel Diallo as disgruntled fans fumed over long queues and a surprise ticket sales halt on day one. Third seed Zverev, the runner-up to Jannik Sinner last year, dropped the first set against the feisty world number 41 at Rod Laver Arena on Sunday (January 18) but rallied to a 6-7(1) 6-1 6-4 6-2 win on a steamy afternoon. "I was giving him too many chances, I was too defensive. But the normal stuff that I do in the first round of a Grand Slam sometimes. Happy with the way I played the second, third, and fourth, because I thought that was quite high level for me. Happy to get the win," said Zverev. Meanwhile, pocket dynamo Jasmine Paolini raced to a 6-1 6-2 win over Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich in little more than an hour in the opening match at Rod Laver Arena. The seventh seed, a Wimbledon and French Open runner-up, battled nerves before the match and was glad of the downtime on a sunny afternoon. "I will enjoy my Sunday now," the Italian scribbled on a courtside camera lens before exiting. Other seeds found themselves at a much looser end. Italian 20th seed Flavio Cobolli lost 7-6(1) 6-4 6-1 to British qualifier Arthur Fery after complaining of stomach problems during his match at John Cain Arena. World number 186 Fery's victory in his Australian Open debut was a reward for his mother Olivia, a former tennis professional, for flying to Melbourne after he qualified. No. 32 seed Corentin Moutet also took care of business in straight sets, beating Tristan Schoolkate, who was competing in his home country, 6-4, 7-6 (1), 6-3. The Frenchman won 67% of his service points while Schoolkate committed 49 unforced errors. "We all have some kind of pain every day, that we have to deal with. I was trying to handle it in the best way possible. I did pretty well. I'm glad that I did well. You know, proud of myself," Moutet said, responding to his leg issue. (Production: Suramya Kaushik)
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