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Australian Open: Wozniachi, Erani out as Serena, Djokovic cruise on

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Defending women’s champion, Serena Williams, reached the second round of the Australian Open with a tense 6-4 7-5 win over Italian Camila Giorgi in her first tour match in four months.

The American, 34, had been struggling with a left knee injury in the build-up, but came through unscathed.

Men’s champion, Novak Djokovic went through in straight sets, beating South Korea’s Hyeon Chung 6-3 6-2 6-4. Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova also won easily in Melbourne on Monday.

Third seed Federer beat Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-2 6-1 6-2 in 72 minutes while fifth seed Sharapova needed just one minute longer to see off Nao Hibino 6-1 6-3.

Players struggled as temperatures reached 34C but the main talking point was a report by the BBC and BuzzFeed News which said 16 top-50 players over the past decade, including Grand Slam doubles champions, had repeatedly been suspected of match-fixing without facing action.

Association of Tennis Professionals chief, Chris Kermode rejected any suggestion that match-fixing evidence had been covered up or ignored.

Williams had not played a competitive match since the US Open in September, but she made light of her preparation problems as she edged past world number 34th seed, Giorgi.

Read also: Match-Fixing allegations overshadow Day 1 at Australian Open

“It’s great,” the women’s world number one said, when asked about the knee injury that forced her to pull out of the Hopman Cup. “It was an hour and 43 minutes and I didn’t feel it at all.”
Djokovic is bidding to equal Australian Roy Emerson’s record of six Australian Open crowns.

The Serb top seed, who won three of the four Grand Slams last year, outclassed his teenage opponent, hitting 40 winners to Hyeon’s 16.

Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki, the 16th seed from Denmark, was knocked out 1-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 by world number 76 Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan.

“I was cramping the whole third set. I tried to keep my emotions inside and imagine that I was losing,” said 21-year-old Putintseva.

“I would say it’s a pretty rubbish start to the season. It wasn’t a pretty first set but I got it done and really should have closed it off in two,” Wozniacki said.

Italy’s Sara Errani, the 17th seed, had injury problems and became the first women’s seed knocked out, losing 1-6 7-5 6-1 to 21-year-old Russian Margarita Gasparyan.

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