Australian Open: Djokovic, Wawrinka, Nishikori through to second round
Melbourne: Stan Wawrinka began the defence of his Australian Open title with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win over Turkey's Marsel Ilhan on Tuesday.
Wawrinka was barely tested against the No. 100-ranked Ilhan, striking 34 winners and saving the only two break points he faced.
The Swiss player is coming off a breakthrough season that saw him capture his first Grand Slam title, reach a career-high ranking of No. 3 and add the Davis Cup trophy with teammate Roger Federer in November.
Wawrinka also opened this season with the Chennai Open title in his kitty, which he also won last year before his surprising run to the Australian Open championship.
Kei Nishikori returned to Grand Slam action for the first time since his run to the U.S. Open final, beating Nicolas Almagro 6-4, 7-6 (1), 6-2 in the first round.
The fifth-seeded Nishikori dropped his opening service game but recovered the break quickly and weathered a difficult opening match against Almagro, who reached the quarterfinals in his previous visit to Melbourne Park in 2013.
Nishikori kept his unforced errors to 21 against Almagro, who ripped more winners - 40 to 30, but also made 50 unforced errors.
After a breakthrough season, when he became the first Asian man to reach a Grand Slam singles final, Nishikori is determined to go one better and win a major.
Comeback queen Victoria Azarenka wins Australian Open grudge match
Two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka stormed through her grudge match with American Sloane Stephens on Tuesday to reach the second round at Melbourne Park.
Azarenka, ranked just 44 going into the season-opening Grand Slam after an injury-marred 2014, showed why she is regarded as the most dangerous unseeded player at the tournament as she downed Stephens 6-3, 6-2.
The Belarusian, who controversially defeated Stephens in the 2013 Australian Open semi-final with the help of a lengthy medical timeout, faces a potentially tricky second round encounter with either eighth seed Caroline Wozniacki or American Taylor Townsend.
Top seed Djokovic into second round
World number one Novak Djokovic got his quest for a fifth Australian Open title off to a winning start in straight sets on Tuesday.
The Serb top seed eliminated Slovenia's Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in 1hr 49min on Rod Laver Arena and will next play either Russian Andrey Kuznetsov or Spain's Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
Djokovic, who lost to eventual winner Stan Wawrinka in the quarter-finals of last year's event, has been troubled by illness in the lead-up to the year's first major tournament.
But after encountering early problems from the 116th-ranked Bedene he went on to secure passage into the next round.
Seven-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic broke Bedene's service four times and only had three break points against his serve in the match. "For a first round performance it was pretty good, obviously I still need to work on a few things, I'm still developing my game. Hopefully, it's going to be better in the next one, but credit to Bedene for playing well today. I've seen him play only once before and on centre court. He had nothing to lose and he has a very quick service motion so it was difficult to read his serve,” Djokovic said.
"If you have a good serve, you have a good chance to play a good match, so I am just glad to go through," Djokovic added.
Venus Williams sails to second round
Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams said her will to win was undimmed as she launched her 15th Australian Open campaign on Tuesday with a victory over Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor.
The 34-year-old American, seeded 18 this year, breezed past the Spaniard 6-2, 6-2. Williams said she was feeling match-fit after winning the Auckland Open warm-up event. "I love the game, I love the thrill, I love the 'Go Venus'," she said.
"It takes a lot of work to get to this level, so while I can play I'm going to play, when I can't I'm going to watch it on TV," Williams added.
Williams has made the final at Melbourne Park once, in 2003, along with one appearance in the semis and five in the quarters since she debuted in 1998. She said she was not looking too far ahead into this year's draw. "My whole goal is to win my match, it's just that simple, no one gives it to you," she said.
Williams will play either compatriot Lauren Davis or Serbia's Aleksandra Krunic in the second round.
