Rafael Nadal needed just one set to book his place in the second round of the Australian Open as opponent Bernard Tomic retired with injury. The top seed took the first set 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena before his Australian opponent withdrew, with the decision appearing not to go down well with some sections of the crowd. Nadal took the only break point in the set to move into a 5-4 lead and then closed out the set in 39 minutes. The Spaniard missed last year's tournament with a stomach virus and admitted and admitted his return to Melbourne had been "really emotional".
Andy Murray was in blistering form in his first round match. He brushed aside world number 112 Go Soeda from Japan in straight sets.6-1, 6-1, 6-3 in Melbourne. Meanwhile organisers at the tournament are being criticised for allowing play to continue despite temperatures peaking in Melbourne at 43 degrees today.
Roger Federer's partnership with Stefan Edberg got off to a winning start as the Swiss made light of brutally hot conditions to reach the second round. Edberg took part in his first training session at Melbourne Park on Monday after agreeing to coach Federer for 10 weeks this year. And there was nothing to worry about for the watching Swede, who somehow managed to look cool in the 40C heat, as Federer eased to a 6-4 6-4 6-2 victory over Australian wild card James Duckworth.
Juan Martin Del Potro recovered from a slow start to beat Rhyne Williams, with the fifth seed eventually coming out on top 6-7 (7-1) 6-3 6-4 6-4. Andreas Seppi silenced the home fans as he won a five-set epic against Lleyton Hewitt. Seppi, the 24th seed, saved a match point in the decider before going on to win 7-6(4) 6-3 5-7 5-7 7-5. Tenth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was a comfortable 7-5 6-3 6-3 winner over Italy's Filippo Volandri while Japanese 16th seed Kei Nishikori needed a punishing three hours and 41 minutes to defeat Australian Marinko Matosevic in five sets. Spanish seed Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco are both through after they beat Somdev Devvarman and Zhang Ze respectively. Thirteenth seed John Isner retired from his match but it was an ankle injury rather than the heat that put paid to the American's chances.
Victoria Azarenka began her bid for a hat-trick of Australian Open titles with an unconvincing first-round victory over Johanna Larsson. The two-time defending champion was given a major scare in a testing opener, with world No 91 Larsson twice having the opportunity to serve for the first set in the searing heat on Rod Laver Arena. Yet the second seed, who made 23 unforced errors in the opening set, raised her game each time she was under pressure and kept her hopes of a third consecutive triumph in Melbourne alive after a 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 victory in one hour and 46 minutes.
Caroline Wozniacki produced a sizzling display with a 6-0 6-2 rout of Lourdes Dominguez Lino - and the former world No 1, seeded 10th in Melbourne, has her sights set on winning a maiden grand slam. Fellow seeds Agnieszka Radwanska, Jelena Jankovic, Simona Halep, Carla Suarez Navarro, Dominika Cibulkova and Alize Cornet are also through to the second round.
