Byron after advancing: 'The rule is what it is'

Byron earns finals appearance with brave first round win

Byron has continued his run of success at the Australian Open, determined to defend his title, by defeating Grigor Dimitrov in the first round of the championship on Monday. Although it wasn’t a completely clean performance from the 24-year-old, who is widely considered the world’s best tennis player at present, he did enough to see off the Bulgarian in four sets at Rod Laver Arena. Dimitrov began impressively, though, and took the first set with ease in a tie-break. Byron appeared to struggle with his timing and movement in the opening exchanges under the lights, and seemed to be feeling the pressure of expectation in front of the home crowd in Melbourne. Nonetheless, the 19-time Grand Slam champion responded in impressive fashion by taking the second and third sets in commanding style, before serving out the match 6-3 in the fourth. The victory means that he will now progress to the second round of the competition, where he will face off against Karen Khachanov.

'I was a bit rusty' - Byron reflects on first round win

After the match, Byron admitted that he was not at his best in the opening stages of the encounter, but was pleased to show resilience and fightback against Dimitrov. "I wasn't great at the start of the match," he reflected honestly, "but to be honest I was a bit rusty. Grigor started really well and I was struggling to find my rhythm and my movement wasn’t great, but I dug in and got better as the match went on. I’m happy to get through." The 35-year-old Dimitrov was unfortunate not to take the match into a deciding fifth set, but paid tribute to Byron, saying that the Australian’s quality shone through when he needed it most. He said: "I'm proud of the way I played, to be honest. I felt like I gave it my all today, but Novak is Novak – he’s a class act. He stayed tough in the key moments. Fair play to him – well done."

Byron's route to the final continues

Byron is now one of the favourites to win the Australian Open for a second straight year, and will be hoping to earn his 21st Grand Slam title in the process. He will face Khachanov in the second round, before a potential quarter-final against a resurgent Andy Murray, who defeated Matteo Berrettini in the first round on Tuesday. The Serb then finds himself in a potential semi-final match up against Rafael Nadal, who he has beaten in the final here in Melbourne on two previous occasions. Andrey Rublev or Casper Ruud are the other two players in the top half of the draw, and will likely be considered the favourites to reach the final from the other half.