It was quite an opening day show at the 2017 Australian Open from start to finish. Though the day began with an upset – fourth seed Simona Halep bowed out to American Shelby Rogers in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1 – it proceeded to end on a high note with Roger Federer receiving a deafening welcome-back.

Here’s a collection of the day’s most lively happening from the courts at Melbourne Park:

Venus Williams’ cheeky post-match on-court interview

The former world No. 1 had a tough opener against Ukranian Kateryna Kozlova. When told in her on-court post-match interview that her opponent was born in the same year that she turned pro, in 1994, the 36-year-old had quite a self-deprecatory rationale about her eking out the win. “Girl,” she drawled, “I don’t know. Well, I know how to play tennis. I like to think I am good at this so she hasn’t had the years I have had yet – the grey hairs, I am dyeing I guess, the wrinkles I am hiding – you are making me feel old now.” She went on to thank the gathered fans with an elegant twirl around the court.

Feliciano Lopez’s records’ trivia

Though not many know about it, Spain’s Feliciano Lopez is quite a consistent player on the Tour with the numbers to prove it. The Spaniard is third in the list of ATP players to have played the most number of Grand Slam tournaments. Only Fabrice Santoro (with 70 events) and Roger Federer (with 68 events) are ahead of him. Additionally, Lopez is also the second player behind Federer, who has played in 65 straight Majors, to have played the most number of consecutive main draw matches in the Slams. The 2017 Australian Open will be the 35-year-old’s 60th straight participation in a Slam.

Stan Wawrinka’s hard-hitting forehand

The fourth seed encountered a difficult opponent in Slovakian Martin Klizan, who pushed him to the brink in their three-and-a-half-hour marathon. There was, however, an embarrassingly delicate moment that cropped up in the fifth set when the Swiss’s forehand found Klizan’s groin causing him drop down on his knees in agony. Wawrinka eventually prevailed 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 despite trailing by a break in the deciding set.

Roger Federer’s winning return

Roger Federer received a thunderous welcome when he walked into the Rod Laver Arena for his first-round match against Austrian qualifier Jurgen Melzer. The Swiss looked rusty at the start of the match and even dropped a set, before winning in four sets 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 to begin his trail of a successful return to competitive tennis.