Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic begin Aussie Open with easy wins

The fifth-seeded Sharapova won the 2008 Australian title and has lost three finals at Melbourne Park.

A fine run of form last season saw Konta win 20 from 23 matches and propelled her to British number-one and a career high world ranking of 47.

“It was an incredible moment to be in the final of this event again”, said Sharapova, who played her first-round match on Margaret Court Arena, one of three other covered stadiums at Melbourne Park.

“When the draw came out and I saw who was playing, I just hoped to stay out there more than an hour”, she said. “It was an hour and 43 minutes and I didn’t feel it at all”, she said.

Williams made a bright start, in a way, holding up one finger and twirling in her yellow outfit to celebrate her 6-4, 7-5 over Camila Giorgi.

For the first time in a long time, the resurgent Williams was on the long list of women’s favorites coming into a Grand Slam tournament.

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.

World number one and defending champion Novak Djokovic marched imperiously into the second round of the Australian Open with a dominant 6-3 6-2 6-4 victory over Chung Hyeon on Monday. “I undoubtedly had the best season and best year of my life in 2015”, a clearly amused Djokovic told on-court interviewer Jim Courier before directing a message to his wife.

“I was approached through people that were working with me at that time, that were with my team”, he said.

In searing heat, the six-time Australian Open champion, who is gunning to equal Steffi Graf’s Open-era record of 22 Grand Slam titles, ground down the Italian 6-4, 7-5 in 1hr 45 mins during her first round clash.

While Williams perished, Spanish third seed Garbine Muguruza had no such troubles earlier in advancing to the second round with a 6-0 6-4 win over Anett Kontaveit of Estonia.

No players were identified in the reports, which alleged 16 players had been flagged repeatedly with tennis authorities but not sanctioned on suspicion of match fixing.

“It’s irrelevant how old (Venus) is because she’s such a champion with so much experience and so much knowledge about the game”, said Konta, who was born in Australia to Hungarian parents and moved to Britain a decade ago.

Whether or not her comments can be taken at face value, writing off Williams for whatever reason is a unsafe business and it would be no surprise at all if she swatted Giorgi aside as she embarks on her bid for a seventh singles title.