Novak Djokovic may have cursed the draw for throwing up Fernando Verdasco as the first opponent in his Australian Open defence yesterday but the tough match-up against the Spanish giant-killer ultimately proved a blessing in disguise.
The Serb launched his bid for a record seventh title at Melbourne Park with an impressive 6-1 7-6 6-2 win over the man who knocked Rafa Nadal out in the first round of last year’s tournament.
Djokovic was forced to save five match points to beat Verdasco at the recent Qatar Open and was broken twice during a thrilling second set under the lights of Rod Laver Arena.
But the second seed defended brilliantly to defuse the veteran lefthander’s power game and closed out the two-hour 20-minute clash.
“I knew that winning the second set would be crucial because I definitely didn’t want to give him wings,” Djokovic told reporters after setting up a second round clash against Uzbek Denis Istomin.
“I didn’t want to have him start swinging at the ball, as he knows.”
Nadal showed there was plenty of life in his battered body yet when he cast aside the disappointments of last year to reach the second round with a 6-3 6-4 6-4 victory over Florian Mayer.
Easily avoiding the embarrassment of a back-to-back first round exits at Melbourne Park, the 30-year-old needed a single break in each set to proceed after a little over two hours in the brutal afternoon sun.
Meanwhile, big-serving Croatian Ivo Karlovic won the longest fifth set in the history of Australian Open singles to beat Horacio Zeballos 6-7 3-6 7-5 6-2 22-20.
Karlovic came from two sets down to seal a stunning victory on Court 19 after a marathon contest lasting five hours and 15 minutes and featuring a combined total of 108 aces.
The final set alone included a tournament-record 44 games and took two hours and 37 minutes, 17 minutes longer than Djokovic needed for the entirety of his straight-sets win over Verdasco.
In the women’s tournament, two matches in four months, a dodgy knee and a sweltering day had doubts swirling around Serena Williams as she took centre court for her first round match against talented Swiss Belinda Bencic.
It took 79 minutes for the 35-year-old American to bat them all away, however, an emphatic 6-4 6-3 win at Rod Laver Arena providing a near-perfect launch of her bid to clinch a record 23rd grand slam title in the professional era.
Fiance Alexis Ohanian, a social media entrepreneur, was a spectator in the crowd but the wedding plans remain on hold for at least another match, and much longer if the American great has her way at Melbourne Park.
“I just kept saying that February I’ll start looking at the bigger picture of my life,” Williams, who next plays Czech Lucie Safarova, told reporters.
“But right now I’m just so focused that this is kind of all I can think about.”
Earlier, Britain’s growing hopes of a first women’s grand slam champion in 40 years moved a step closer when ninth seed Johanna Konta took out Kirsten Flipkens 7-5 6-2.