Djokovic Powers Through To Second Round In Oz

No. 5 Maria Sharpova, who lost to Williams in last year’s final, breezed through her first-round match 6-1, 6-3 against Nao Hibino of Japan.

Coming off a year in which he won 11 tournaments and three of the four majors, the 28-year-old Serbian ironman should safely negotiate his opening match whatever the weather.

Djokovic’s main opponent was the 35 Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) heat as, cooling himself with ice vests on the change-overs, the top seed dispatched Korean rising star Chung Hyeon 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

Konta, born in Sydney, was making her first appearance in Melbourne but did not look out of place as she got stuck into Williams early on, absorbing the seven-time grand slam winner’s power and manoeuvring her around the court superbly.

Konta could face China’s No. 1 ranked player Zheng Saisai in the second round.

At a news conference at Melbourne Park on Monday, Kermode said officials “absolutely reject any suggestion that evidence of match-fixing has been suppressed for any reason, or isn’t being investigated”.

Williams started off 2016 having to pull out of Hopman Cup with inflammation in her knee. “So like I said, A for effort”.

The American has barely swung a racket since the semi-final defeat to Italy’s Roberta Vinci at last September’s U.S. Open denied her a shot at the single season grand slam.

“When the draw came out and I saw who I was playing I was like ‘Well, OK, I just hope to stay out there more than an hour, ‘” Konta said in a post-match TV interview, apparently as surprised as anyone after her straight-sets win over No. 8-seeded Williams. “I just needed that time to just recover the best of my ability and get really fit, you know, and really train and get ready for the season”.

Williams said that she hasn’t received any crime-fighting job offers since then but she is hopeful of landing an action role, perhaps “as a super hero”.

Saddled with a doozy of an Australian Open first-round match for being ranked No. 1 and facing questions about her balky right knee, Williams gutted out a 6-4, 7-5 win over Italian Camila Giorgi. It’s no secret who you’re going to be playing. “I’m really pleased how I was able to play”, Federer said.

“I think I served well today”.

Despite the upsets, the match-fixing scandal still cast a shadow over the event, with Andy Murray claiming betting companies should not be allowed to sponsor tournaments and calling for greater education on the issue for younger players.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova has the distinction of winning the first completed match at the 2016 Australian Open, avenging a loss to Luksika Kumkhum from two years ago.

ATP chairman Chris Kermode and Nigel Willerton, head of the Tennis Integrity Unit, represented the four governing bodies of tennis – the ATP, the WTA, the Grand Slam Board and the International Tennis Federation – and responded to allegations that in that last decade 16 players have been repeatedly flagged to the integrity unit.