Top seed Iga Swiatek survived a tough examination while Jessica Pegula and teenage prodigy Coco Gauff were both emphatic winners on the first day of action.
Swiatek was far from her fluent best against Jule Niemeier but got the job done, 6-4, 7-5. The Pole, who is chasing an Australian Open crown to go with major titles at the US Open and Roland Garros, plays Camila Osorio of Colombia next.
In-form Pegula blitzed 161st-ranked Romanian Jaqueline Cristian 6-0, 6-1 in a 59-minute romp to signal her intent.
Fellow American Gauff was equally explosive in racing into the second round with a 6-1, 6-4 thumping of Czech Katerina Siniakova.
The 18-year-old Gauff now faces a mouth-watering encounter against former US Open champion Emma Raducanu.
It will be the first-ever meeting between Gauff and the 20-year-old Raducanu, two rising stars of women’s tennis.
“I’m really looking forward to this match,” Raducanu said.
“I’m very up for it. Coco has obviously done a lot of great things and she’s playing well.
“I think we’re both good, young players, we’re both coming through – part of the next generation of tennis really – it’s going to be a great match.”
Also safely through was another American, Danielle Collins, last year’s beaten finalist in Melbourne.
Greek sixth seed Maria Sakkari also won and…
