TheCable

Australian Open got underway in Melbourne with the big guns — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams — all waltzing through the first round with minimal fuss.

Defending champion, Federer, picked apart Denis Istomin in straight sets with a 6-3 6-4 6-4 win.

Federer, who has won the tournament six times, will face Britain’s Dan Evans in the second round.

The first seed of the men’s draw, Djokovic, dispatched Mitchell Krueger 6-3 6-2 6-2 to also move into the second round.

The Serbian who has also won the Australian Open six times will face a tricky opponent in France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the next round.

Nadal, who comes into the tournament on a low profile despite being a 17-time Grand Slam winner, defeated James Duckworth 6-4 6-3 7-5 to move into the second round.

The Spaniard will be hoping to spring a surprise in a tournament he won in 2009 and was a losing finalist in 2017.

John Isner became the first top 10 player to lose in the first round after falling to Reilly Opelka who is ranked number 97 in the world.

Kevin Anderson of South Africa progressed into second round with a 6-3 5-7 6-2 6-1 win over France’s Adrian Mannarino. The 32-year-old fifth seed will face William Tiafoe in the second round.

In the women’s draw, Serena Williams began her bid for a 24th Grand Slam title with an easy 6-0 6-2 win over Tatjana Maria.

Williams will face a stern test against Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard in the second round.

It was, however, not an easy opener for Venus as the older Williams sister fought back from a set down to win 6-7 7-6 6-2 against Mihaela Buzarnescu. The American will face Alize Cornet in the second round.

Maria Sharapova, former world number one, started her tournament with the easiest win of the round, a 6-0 6-0 shutout win over Harriet Dart.

The veteran and 2008 winner in Australian showed her years of experience as she schooled the British newcomer, Dart, who put in a nervous display on her grand slam debut.