Novak Djokovic fires warning, Serena Williams off to fast start – Australian Open Day 1 round-up

MELBOURNE // Novak Djokovic opened his Australian Open title defence with a straight-sets win, before jumping to the defence of his sport as reports of match-fixing overshadowed the first day of the season-opening grand slam.

Djokovic had a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win over Chung Hyeon of South Korea at Rod Laver Arena on Monday, immediately after women’s defending champion and No 1-ranked Serena Williams started her bid for a seventh Australian title with a 6-4, 7-5 win over No 34-ranked Camila Giorgi.

Williams, who hadn’t completed a competitive match since her bid for a calendar-year grand slam in 2015 ended in semifinal defeat at the U.S. Open, was on court warming up when tennis authorities held a joint news conference at Melbourne Park to refute reports from the BBC and Buzzfeed News that match-fixing had gone unchecked in tennis.

ATP chairman Chris Kermode and Nigel Willerton, head of the Tennis Integrity Unit, represented the four governing bodies of tennis – the ATP, the WTA, the grand slam Board and the International Tennis Federation – and responded to allegations that in that last decade 16 players have been repeatedly flagged to the integrity unit. None of the players were named, although reports said all had been in the top 50. Kermode said tennis authorities “absolutely reject any suggestion that evidence of match-fixing has been suppressed for any reason, or isn’t being investigated.”

Match-fixing allegations against top-50 tennis players cast dark cloud over Australian Open

Gallery: Australian Open Day 1: Djokovic, Federer and Serena Williams ease through – in pictures

Djokovic said he thought the allegations related to matches from almost 10 years ago and didn’t involve active players.

“I don’t think the shadow is cast over our sport,” he said. “People are talking about names, guessing who these players are. But there’s no real proof or evidence yet of any active players. As long as it’s like that, it’s just speculation.

“From my knowledge ... there is nothing happening on the top level.”

He said he couldn’t give a definitive defence of lower-tier tournaments, but added “there is an organization, authorities, people who take care of that on a daily basis and make sure to track it down.”

Roger Federer started his bid for a fifth Australian title with a 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 win over Nikoloz Basilashvili in a night match, following Williams and Djokovic on the center court.

Williams, like Djokovic, won three of the four major titles last season, but hadn’t finished a competitive match for months. She withdrew from the Hopman Cup because of inflammation in her knee, playing just one set in Perth.

“I haven’t played in a long time, but I have been playing for 30 years, so it’s kind of – I try to focus on that,” said Williams, who dropped only one service game against Giorgi. “I was able to stay in it and stay calm today and I think that’s what matters most.”

The 21-time major winner said there was no hint of match-fixing on the women’s tour.

“I play very hard, and every player I play seems to play hard,” she said. “As an athlete, I do everything I can to be not only great, but, you know, historic.”

Maria Sharapova, who lost to Williams in the final here last year and could meet her again in the quarterfinals, showed no signs of a left forearm injury that curtailed her preparations when she beat Nao Hibino 6-1, 6-3 in a night match. Genie Bouchard advanced with a 6-3, 6-4 win against Alexandra Krunic.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova beat Thai qualifier Luksika Kumkhum, avenging her upset loss in the first round here in 2014, and No 4 Agnieszka Radwanska beat Christina McHale 6-2, 6-3. Also advancing were No 10 Carla Suarez Navarro, No 12 Belinda Bencic, No 13. Robert Vinci and No 23 Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Former No1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki lost 1-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4 to Yulia Putintseva, continuing a downward spiral at Melbourne Park that has resulted in her exiting one round earlier each year since she reached the 2011 semifinals.

No 24 Sloane Stephens, a semifinalist in 2013, lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Qiang, and exited along with No 26 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and No 27 Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.

On the men’s side, sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych, a semifinalist last year, opened his 50th consecutive major by beating Yuki Bhambri 7-5, 6-1, 6-2, and No 7 Kei Nishikori had a 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 win over Philipp Kohlschreiber.

Also advancing were No 12 Marin Cilic, No 14 Gilles Simon, No 15 David Goffin, No 19. Dominic Thiem, No 26 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and No 27 Grigor Dimitrov. No 22 Ivo Karlovic retired due to a left knee injury while trailing Federico Delbonis 7-6 (4), 6-4, 2-1.

Australian Open first round results

Men

Novak Djokovic (SRB x1) bt Chung Hyeon (KOR) 6-3, 6-2, 6-4

Denis Kudla (USA) bt Filip Krajinovic (SRB) 6-2, 6-1, 0-0 ret

Federico Del Bonis (ARG) bt Ivo Karlovic (CRO x22) 7-6 (7/4), 6-4, 2-1 abandon

Evgeny Donskoy (RUS) bt Inigo Cervantes-Huegun (ESP) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4

Gilles Simon (FRA x14) bt Vasek Pospisil (CAN) 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 6-2, 6-4

Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA) bt Pablo Andujar (ESP) 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 6-2

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP x26) bt Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) 6-4, 6-4, 6-4

Daniel Brands (GER) bt Victor Estrella (DOM) 6-4, 7-6 (7/1), 4-6, 6-1

Austin Krajicek (USA) bt Wu Di (CHN) 6-4, 6-1, 6-3

Kei Nishikori (JPN x7) bt Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 6-4, 6-3, 6-3

Aleksandr Dolgopolov (UKR) bt Ricardas Berankis (LTU) 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2

Dominic Thiem (AUT x19) bt Leonardo Mayer (ARG) 6-2, 7-6 (8/6), 4-6, 7-6 (7/0)

Nicolas Almagro (ESP) bt Julien Benneteau (FRA) 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 7-6 (7/1)

Damir Dzumhur (BIH) bt Kyle Edmund (GBR) 1-6, 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 6-3, 6-1

David Goffin (BEL x15) bt Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4

Marin Cilic (CRO x12) bt Thiemo de Bakker (NED) 6-7 (4/7), 7-5, 6-2, 6-4

Albert Ramos (ESP) bt Borna Coric (CRO) 6-2, 6-2, 6-3

Mirza Basic (BIH) bt Robin Haase (NED) 7-6 (7/4), 6-4, 6-4

Tomas Berdych (CZE x6) bt Yuki Bhambri (IND) 7-5, 6-1, 6-2

Women

Serena Williams (USA x1) bt Camila Giorgi (ITA) 6-4, 7-5

Hsieh Su-Wei (TPE) bt Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) 3-6, 7-5, 6-1

Darya Kasatkina (RUS) bt Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (SVK x27) 6-3, 6-3

Margarita Gasparyan (RUS) bt Sara Errani (ITA x17) 1-6, 7-5, 6-1

Kurumi Nara (JPN) bt Oceane Dodin (FRA) 7-6 (7/2), 6-2

Han Xinyun (CHN) bt Mariana Duque (COL) 6-2, 2-1 ret

Belinda Bencic (SUI x12) bt Alison Riske (USA) 6-4, 6-3

Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS x23) bt Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) 6-0, 6-2

Lauren Davis (USA) bt Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS x26) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4

Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK) bt Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) 3-6, 6-3, 7-5

Agnieszka Radwanska (POL x4) bt Christina McHale (USA) 6-2, 6-3

Wang Qiang (CHN) bt Sloane Stephens (USA x24) 6-3, 6-3

Anna-Lena Friedsam (GER) bt Lourdes Dominguez (ESP) 7-6 (7/3), 2-6, 6-1

Roberta Vinci (ITA x13) bt Tamira Paszek (AUT) 6-4, 6-2

Carla Suarez (ESP x10) bt Viktorija Golubic (SUI) 7-5, 6-4

Maria Sakkari (GRE) bt Yafan Wang (CHN) 6-4, 1-6, 6-3

Kristina Mladenovic (FRA x28) bt Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) 6-3, 6-4

Nicole Gibbs (USA) bt Klara Koukalova (CZE) 6-2, 2-6, 6-1

Daria Gavrilova (AUS) bt Lucie Hradecka (CZE) 7-6 (7/3), 6-4

Petra Kvitova (CZE x6) bt Luksika Kumkhum (THA) 6-3, 6-1

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Novak Djokovic fires warning, Serena Williams off to fast start – Australian Open Day 1 round-up

Agnieszka Radwanska powered past American Christina McHale in straight sets at the Australian Open Monday, showing no sign of the injury that forced her out of the Brisbane International.