(Photo credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images)

The Italian men dominated play on Tuesday afternoon at the Australian Open.

And the top dog of the newest tennis power country, No. 1 Jannik Sinner, does not take the court until in the evening at Melbourne.

A pair of seeded Italian players -- No. 5 Lorenzo Musetti and No. 22 Luciano Darderi -- were pushed in their first-round matches, while unseeded Lorenzo Sonego cruised to victory over Spain's Carlos Taberner, 6-4, 6-0, 6-3.

Musetti, who just earned a career-high ranking after a run to the final in Hong Kong, came away with a hard-earned decision over Raphael Collignon. The Belgian was experiencing leg cramps and could not continue in the fourth set when he trailed 4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5, 3-2.

Musetti has dealt with left hip and right elbow injuries over the past couple of weeks. He had to withdraw from an exhibition match vs. Alexander Zverev one week ago.

Musetti will face Sonego in the second round. The duo played doubles together in Hong Kong.

Darderi pulled out a 7-6 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (3) victory over Chile's Cristian Garin. The match took nearly three hours and Darderi had to rally from 5-3 down in the first-set tiebreaker to take a 1-0 set advantage.

Both players were struggling physically at the end of match and Darderi left the court rapidly after the post-match handshake.

Ethan Quinn, the 2023 NCAA singles champion, upset No. 23 Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor 6-2, 6-3, 6-2. The victory by the 21-year old former University of Georgia standout avenged a loss to Griekspoor in the third round of the 2025 French Open, when Quinn held a 2-1 set lead.

Quinn struck 32 winners on Tuesday and made only 16 unforced errors. He also showed steady net play, winning 15 of 19 points, while his opponent only captured 11 of 26.

--Field Level Media