The first round of the 2014 Australian Open is in the books. There were fewer upsets than usual, and the intense heat on day two put a damper on the quality of the tennis, along with forcing a record number of grand slam match retirements in a single day.  Still, there were some good matches that took place on the men’s side, and here is a look at the five most enjoyable.

Not all courts had TV cameras, so there were some good matches that could only be seen in person and thus could not be included on this list.  Among them was Gilles Simon’s victory over Daniel Brands in a 30-game fifth set after saving seven match points.

5) Thanasi Kokkinakis d. Igor Sijsling, 7-6(4) 0-6 7-6(3) 6-2

This victory took some major grit and heart for the young Aussie Kokkinakis, who won two tiebreaks. The third-set tiebreak came after he was bageled in the second set, and then in the fourth set both players were seriously cramping and it was painful to watch. Sijsling could barely move and looked almost limp-wristed on his returns as he relied on his serve, while Kokkankis was struggling to walk and deliver a first serve at any sort of pace. They both had positive winner to unforced error counts, though.

Sijsling probably could have won this match if he had taken the third set, given his opponent’s physical condition, for a fifth set between them would have been difficult to imagine. In the fourth set, Kokkinakis got an early break and then struggled to consolidate it as he nearly fell, stumbling backwards, and dropped his racquet with cramps. Sijsling held two break points but didn’t convert either of them, and they limped their way to holds until Kokkinakis would break again to win the match. By the seventh and eighth games of the fourth set, it was a matter of who had better flat-footed technique. Kokkinakis slapped a few extra winners that Sijsling couldn’t manage to chase, and he played off the home crowd.

In an entertaining finish, Kokkinakis took a victory lap after the match as he high-fived fans all around the court. There was no doubt that this match was dramatic, its quality aside.

4) Jerzy Janowicz d. Jordan Thompson, 1-6 4-6 6-4 6-2 6-1

It was a true five-set rollercoaster between Jerzy Janowicz and the young Aussie wild card Jordan Thompson. Janowicz came out ice cold, playing the same rusty tennis he did in his only previous match this month, and Thompson played clean, efficient tennis with just two unforced errors in the opening set. The Aussie was very fast on his feet, chasing returns down and serving well, while the Pole not only committed strings of groundstroke errors but made some questionable decisions in shot selection. Thompson would continue strong in set two, although Janowicz cleaned up his game somewhat, and the Aussie was just a set away from taking the match and grabbing a huge upset.

The tide began to turn as Janowicz would get stronger as the match wore on, and Thompson would eventually run out of gas.  The key momentum swing came in set three, when Thompson failed to convert either of his two break points, and his error count began to climb. After running at a high level for two and a half sets, Thompson slowly faded as Janowicz broke him late in the third set and then twice in each of the final sets.  By the fifth set, the 2013 Wimbledon semifinalist began cracking heavy winners in his trademark style once again, leaving his opponent lucky to avoid a bagel.

It was a very good showing for the Aussie wild card, and Janowicz played like a player outside the top 100 for at least half the match. But the best-of-five format worked in his favor, for he was fitter and had more experience with finishing long matches.   

3) Juan Martin Del Potro d. Rhyne Williams, 6-7(1) 6-3 6-4 6-4

This match was only four sets, but the American qualifier Rhyne Williams played some very good tennis and has to be proud of his performance against the Argentine world No. 5, who perhaps came into this match a little fatigued from his title in Sydney over the weekend.

Williams served very well with 29 total aces, and his forehand was a major weapon the entire match. He fired 55 winners to 39 unforced errors, while Del Potro put up 46 winners to 29 unforced errors, so this was a high-quality, very efficient tennis match. Williams was clutch to mini-breadstick the fifth seed in the first-set tiebreak, a set in which they both had one break of serve. But Del Potro would raise his level for the final three sets and simply win the big points when he needed them, especially using his bludgeoning forehand. Williams never faded and was unfazed by the persona of Del Potro, but he couldn’t manage a break in any of the final three sets.

By contrast, Del Potro was able to pounce on three weak service games, one in each set, and finish off the match in four sets. He will be grateful to do so considering the conditions, since he hopes to make a deep run here. Williams played above his current ranking, and he would have beaten a lot of players with his level in this match.

2) Matt Ebden d. Nicolas Mahut, 6-3 7-5 4-6 0-6 6-3

This was a huge morale victory for the Aussie Matt Ebden. In both 2012 and 2013, Ebden had lost five-set first-round matches from two sets to love up. And he was in serious danger of doing so for a third, back-breaking time, but unlike the previous two attempts he didn’t waver here. This match was also enjoyable because the crowd was loudly into it, and the variety of styles between baseline and serve-volley was a pleasure to watch.

Ebden started strong on serve in the first set, breaking twice without dropping serve himself.  After he got a late break to take the second set, Mahut would level the match with clutch play in the third set and then rush out to a bagel of the Aussie in the fourth. After being broken early and going down 0-3 in the fourth set, Ebden seemed to concede the set and try to conserve energy and focus for the fifth set. 

There, Ebden would return to his level from the first two sets, managing to break Mahut twice after conceding a break of serve himself.  He played solid tennis at the net, including sealing the match with a highlight-worthy backhand passing shot beyond the reach of Mahut—and most other opponents. 

1) Andreas Seppi d. Lleyton Hewitt, 7-6(4) 6-3 5-7 5-7 7-5

This was a heartbreaking loss for Lleyton Hewitt and his fans in a sweltering, physically draining match on Rod Laver Arena.  Andreas Seppi would play superior tennis for the first couple of sets, coming back from a break down in the first to take the tiebreak 7-4 and getting a lone break in the second to take a two-set lead.  But the gritty Aussie fighter would, as many expected, make a charge to come back.

Hewitt came back from being broken in his opening service game in both the third and fourth sets to break at the end of each set and force a fifth.  In that fifth set, Hewitt was also broken in his opening service game and would spend most of the set down a break.  He managed to draw level at 4-4 and held a match point with Seppi serving at 4-5 to seal another classic Australian Open comeback. It would be saved with an ace before Seppi broke Hewitt in the next game and then quickly served out the match.

 Both players were very fit, given the conditions, and there was no cramping despite the grinding style of play. The quality of this match wasn’t the best because they both seemed to be conserving energy and played a lot of cautious points trying to force errors out of the other. But the rallies were often 15 shots or more, and Hewitt was clearly physically hurting in the fifth set, which is part of the reason he faded after failing to convert his match point. The fans were into this match for the home man, of course, and they nearly carried him through, but it just wasn’t to be. Hewitt is never an easy player to beat, and Seppi deserves full credit for coming through in the clutch to get the win after arriving in Melbourne with questionable form.