NOVAK Djokovic safely negotiated the first hurdle in his quest for a 25th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open on Monday as women’s title challengers Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff also eased into the second round on day two of the championships.
There were straightforward victories for Daniil Medvedev, local hope Alex De Minaur as well as top Americans Amanda Anisimova and Jessica Pegula in front of another bumper crowd of 100,763 fans at Melbourne Park.
Djokovic was last out on the Rod Laver Arena showcourt where he has won 10 of his major titles and ensured there would be no late finish with a vintage 6-3 6-2 6-2 victory over Pedro Martinez.
Martinez was eight years old back in 2006 when Djokovic last lost in the opening round of a Grand Slam and the Spaniard was unable to put sufficient pressure on the Serbian fourth seed to earn more than sympathetic applause for holding his serve.
“I’m blessed to be still playing at this level,” Djokovic said after sealing his 100th Australian Open win in his first tour-level match since November.
“It always feels good at the beginning of the tournament. Let’s see how I progress. Tonight’s performance was definitely great, I cannot complain about anything … let’s hope for the best.”
Djokovic, 38, was not the only member of the men’s old guard to progress with 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka, 40, and 37-year-old Marin Cilic, who won the U.S. Open in the same year, also rolling back the years with first-round victories.
“I know I’m not as good as I was before,” wildcard Wawrinka said after kicking off his final season of Grand Slam tennis with a four-set win over Laslo Djere.
“That’s normal. I’m getting old. But I’m still happy with what I’m doing, always trying to push my own limit, always trying to be better.”
Even with six Grand Slam titles already in the bag, Swiatek is probably nearer the start than the end of her career and she opened her bid for a first Australian Open crown with a 7-6(5) 6-3 win over Chinese qualifier Yuan Yue.
The 24-year-old Pole was far from convincing, however, particularly in the opening set as an inspired Yuan overwhelmed her at times with a relentlessly aggressive game.
Gauff is also bidding for a maiden title in Melbourne and looked every bit the Grand Slam champion as she thumped Kamilla Rakhimova 6-2 6-3 in the first match of the day on the main showcourt.
Anisimova, who downed Simona Waltert 6-3 6-2, and Pegula, a 6-2 6-1 winner over Anastasia Zakharova, also wasted little time in breezing into the second round in the vanguard of a strong American challenge in the women’s draw this year.
Their compatriot Madison Keys begins her title defence along with men’s champion Jannik Sinner on Tuesday.
After record crowds crammed into Melbourne Park on the opening day on Sunday, the venue was heaving again on Monday as fans streamed through the gates under cloudy skies.
It was still steamy during the day, however, and seventh seed Felix Auger-Aliassime retired with severe cramp after falling 3-6 6-4 6-4 behind to Portugal’s Nuno Borges.
Three-times finalist and former world number one Medvedev may have been quietly cheering at Auger-Aliassime’s exit as he could well have met the Canadian in the fourth round.
After three consecutive first-round exits at the Grand Slams, the Russian was relieved to pass a 7-5 6-2 7-6(2) test against Jesper de Jong at Margaret Court Arena.
Originally drawn to play injured former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini, sixth-seeded Australian De Minaur instead faced lucky loser Mackenzie McDonald and thrashed the American 6-2 6-3 6-3.
Frenchman Alexandre Muller later denied fans more local success to cheer when he outlasted Alexei Popyrin in the sort of marathon five-setter that turns John Cain Arena into a bear pit in the early rounds at Melbourne Park.
Reuters