Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams barely broke a sweat in their first-round matches at the Australian Open on Tuesday.
World No 1 Djokovic needed just over two hours to secure victory in his opening match, defeating the USA’s Mitchell Krueger 6-3, 6-2 6-2.
To the amazement of the crowd, Djokovic lost serve in the third game of the opening set, but that stung him into action and he never looked back. He lost only three of the next 13 games as he surged into a two-set lead, providing Krueger with just a handful of opportunities to enjoy the applause of the crowd.
Djokovic converted only six out of 20 break points, and while he posted 42 winners, more than three times that of his opponent, this wastefulness will no doubt be weighing on him ahead of his next clash against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
‘Playing Krueger for the first time, I didn’t really know what to expect. I did my homework, tried to do some research on him, but it was quite tricky and quite different playing him. It was a very competitive match – we both had to work hard, we were both pumped, and showed some emotion on the court. But I enjoyed the match’, Djokovic said.
Earlier in the day, beaten US Open finalist Williams sent a warning shot to the field, storming into the second round with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Tatjana Maria in just 49 minutes.
The full power of her game was unleashed in quick time, breaking at the first opportunity with a crushing forehand return winner on her way to wrapping up the first set in a mere 18 minutes.
Her opponent only got on the board in the 10th game of the match, having fought off two break points. She managed to hold her service game in the next game as well. She could not make it a hat-trick of holds as Williams broke for a fifth time in the match to seal a comfortable 6-0, 6-2 victory.
Williams will face Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard in the next round.
Other selected men’s results:
Milos Raonic defeated Nick Kyrgios 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-4
Alexander Zverev defeated Aljaz Bedene 6-4, 6-1, 6-4
David Goffin defeated Christian Garin 6-0, 6-2, 6-2
Denis Shapovalov defeated Pablo Andujar-Alba 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (3)
Other selected women’s results:
Naomi Osaka defeated Magda Linette 6-4, 6-2
Venus Williams defeated Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-7 (3), 7-6 (3), 6-2
Simona Halep defeated Kaia Kanepi 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-2
Madison Keys defeated Destanee Aiava 6-2, 6-2
Photo: @BBCTennis/Twitter
