Rafael Nadal cruises into second round of Australian Open
Ninth seeded Rafael Nadal was at his best as he defeated Germany's Florian Mayer in the first round of 2017 Australian Open. He powered his way into the second round with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win over Mayer in just over two hours. Nadal had defeated Roger Federer in 2009 to lift his only Australian Open title.
Djokovic begins his title quest with a win
Second seeded and six time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic went past Spain's Fernando Verdasco in the first round of the tournament. Djokovic won the match 6-1, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2.
Records tumble as Ivo Karlovic defeats Horacio Zeballos
Ivo Karlovic hit record-breaking 75 aces in an exhaustive five set victory over Horacio Zeballos in the first round. He won 6-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 22-20. The fifth set lasted for two hours and 57 minutes of the total match time of five hours and 15 minutes. Karlovic blasted 38 aces in the final set alone, while Zeballos hit 33 in the whole match.
Serena, Karolina, Caroline enter round two
Six time champion Serena Williams cruised past teenager Belinda Bencic 6-4, 6-3 in the first round of the Australian Open. Williams will now face Lucie Safarova in the second round. Fifth seeded Karolina Pliskova defeated Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain 6-2, 6-0. Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki got past Australia's Arina Rodionova 6-1, 6-2 in one hour six minutes.
Men's singles first round summary
On the second day of the 2017 Australian Open, Milas Raonic, Gael Monfils, Richard Gasquet, David Ferrer, Grigor Dimitrov and David Goffin won their respective first round matches to advance in the next round.
