Aus Open 2016: Defending champions Serena Williams, Djokovic enter round 2

“Great experience. Great test to start the season”.

After the match, she broke into tears when asked about breaking the drought.

The match featured 11 breaks of serve – seven by Radwanska.

Serbian world No 1 Novak Djokovic eased past Chung Hyeon in straight sets to kick off his quest for a record-equalling sixth Australian Open title on Monday.

Against Verdasco, a player he had beaten 14 times in 16 meetings, the physical ailments that have dogged his stellar career were not apparent, his game just looked stale.

Sixth-seeded Thomas Berdych advanced to the second round with a 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 win over Yuki Bhambri in a straight-forward opener to his 50th consecutive major tournament.

For all that hard work Chung did in the second set, he gave Djokovic a big edge in the third when the Serbian managed to break his serve in seemingly one swift motion.

The 92nd-ranked Bondarenko is playing only her second Grand Slam tournament since returning to the tour in 2014.

Venus Williams has been fined $5,000 by tournament organizers for skipping a news conference after her first-round exit at the Australian Open.

Raonic warmed up for the Australian open by winning his eighth career title at Brisbane, where he beat Roger Federer in the final.

“Undoubtedly I had the best season of my life in 2015”, said Djokovic, who won three of the four majors, with his only misstep coming at the French Open when he lost the final to Swiss Stan Wawrinka.

Konta was really going for her groundstrokes in a high-risk, high-reward approach that kept Williams, who had wrapping on her left leg, on the defensive.

“It was way too quick for my game”, Bedene said.

“I don’t think I made that many errors today”.

No. 7 Kei Nishikori was the first of the seeded men’s players to advance, beating Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. “Every time I step on the court it feels special”. The loss is a huge disappointment to Nadal’s fans – and tennis fans worldwide – who had been expecting great action from his side of the Australian draw where Nadal, now ranked No. 5 in the world, would have faced Andy Murray. “They’re nice, still sweet – you’ll like them”.

ATP chairman Chris Kermode said tennis authorities “absolutely reject any suggestion that evidence of match-fixing has been suppressed for any reason, or isn’t being investigated”. “I would do the same”, he said.

The Russian, attempting to win her first title at Melbourne Park since 2008, was in blistering form to take the match 6-1, 6-3 in 73 minutes.

Sharapova’s match on Rod Laver Arena was one of only three that began on schedule – the other two were also in stadiums with covered roofs – after light rain delayed play for just over an hour on outside courts.

But 36th-ranked Giorgi, a slightly built player packing a meaty forehand, steadied herself to drag Williams into a baseline battle and the American’s screams of frustration underlined the growing tension as the match progressed.

Serena Williams says her recent knee problem wasn’t a problem as she came through a testing first round match at the Australian Open. She beat No. 9 Garbine Muguruza on the way to the fourth round of the U.S. Open previous year and also had a win over No. 2 Simona Halep.

Later matches on Rod Laver Arena involve the defending champions Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic.