Melbourne: The world's leading tennis players were forced to keep cool heads as Australia's skin-reddening sun burnt down on Melbourne Park on Tuesday and day two of the Australian Open got underway.
A gentle breeze kept temperatures manageable but men's third seed Novak Djokovic turned up some heat of his own to oust Benjamin Becker 6-0, 6-2, 7-6. "I started really well," the 20-year-old said. "Honestly saying, I was nervous before the match, knowing that I'm a big favourite in the first round."
Women's second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova swept past France's Nathalie Dechy 6-3 6-1 in just over an hour. "I just try to do my best every single match," she told the crowd. "Everyone who plays a Grand Slam is a great player so..."
Sixth seed Anna Chakvetadze was spared the sapping sun when Germany's Andrea Petkovic retired with a knee injury in the first game of their match.
Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis also advanced to the second round of the Australian Open with a four-set victory over 2002 champion Thomas Johansson of Sweden.
Top seed and World No. 1 Roger Federer opens his campaign for a third consecutive Australian Open title and fourth overall later on Tuesday under lights against Argentine Diego Hartfield.
Former Champions
Federer is one of three former men's champions on show.
Djokovic oozed confidence in his opener, racing through the first seven games of the match and clinching the opening set in 22 minutes.
Becker, whose claim to fame is that he ended Andre Agassi's career by beating him at the 2006 US Open, had no answers in the second set either and, despite a rally in the third, offered little resistance to the Serb.
Djokovic, seeking his first grand slam title, plays Italian Simone Bolelli in the second round. "It's natural that you feel the pressure," Djokovic said of the added expectation this year as third seed. "If you don't feel pressure something is wrong with you, but it's a matter of how you deal with the pressure.
"I'm trying not to think about that too much, about the expectations, about the people saying, 'you got enough quality to win a grand slam this year, especially in Australia or US Open, because of the hard courts'.
"It's very flattering ... but, you know, it kind of puts a lot of pressure on me. I'm only 20 years old, so hopefully, you know, I'm going to have another 10 or 15 years of professional tennis."
Women's ninth seed Daniela Hantuchova survived a decent work out before downing American Vania King 6-3 7-5, though she too refused to speculate on her chances.
"I was just really pleased to get through in two sets, it was tough out there," the Slovak smiled. "It was very tight. I was just pleased with the way I hung in there and played the big points well. That was...crucial today.
"I'm fully fit and so I just want to go out there and enjoy it." Local fans will have something to cheer about later when former world number one Lleyton Hewitt plays Belgium's Steve Darcis.
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