Sharapova and Djokovic into second round in Australia

Novak Djokovic beats Donald Young 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 in his first match since Wimbledon as Maria Sharapova has 6-1, 6-4 win over Tatjana Maria following her one-and-half-year ban.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic reacts after a point against Donald Young of the US during their men's singles first round match on day two of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 16, 2018.
AFP

Serbia's Novak Djokovic reacts after a point against Donald Young of the US during their men's singles first round match on day two of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 16, 2018.

Maria Sharapova, Angelique Kerber and Novak Djokovic ensured there were all kinds of successful comebacks on day two of the Australian Open.

Six-time champion Djokovic and 2014 Australian Open winner Stan Wawrinka returned from long injury layoffs with victories in their first matches since Wimbledon.

Sharapova barely missed a beat in her first match back in Melbourne since a failed doping test in 2016 resulted in a 15-month ban from tennis.

One of just two former champions in the women's draw, Sharapova recovered from an early break in the second set and closed out her 6-1, 6-4 victory over Tatjana Maria with an ace at Margaret Court Arena.

She celebrated by twirling, waving and blowing kisses to the crowd.

"It's been a couple of years since I've been back here – obviously I wanted to enjoy the moment," the 2008 Australian Open champion and three-time runner-up said in an on-court TV interview. "It was really meaningful for me to be out here."

Kerber, the 2016 champion, continued her resurgent run with a 6-0, 6-4 win over fellow German Anna-Lena Friedsam.

It extended her streak to 10 consecutive wins, including the Sydney International title last week –her first title since the 2016 US Open.

Her ranking slid into the 20s in 2017, but she's coming back into the kind of form which makes her a title contender.

"I'm just enjoying it on court again," Kerber said. "Something is going on with Australia and me. I love this country – I enjoy my stay, play my best tennis."

Djokovic tweaked his service motion while recovering from an injured right elbow, and used it to good effect in a 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 win over Donald Young, who saved four match points on his own serve but was out in the next game.

Djokovic lost in the second round here last year, but won five of the previous six Australian Open titles.

"Obviously I wanted to start with the right intensity, which I have," Djokovic said. "I played perfect tennis, like I never stopped."

Wawrinka, who had six months out after surgery on his left knee, beat Ricardas Berankis 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (2).

Number 4-ranked Alexander Zverev and number 7 David Goffin advanced, but number 20 Roberto Bautista Agut lost to fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, a semi-finalist here in 2009, and former Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic lost 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (4) to Lukas Lacko.

Number 13 Sam Querrey restored some order for the US men with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win over Feliciano Lopez. Two other US contenders, Jack Sock and John Isner, were out on opening day.

Madison Keys also reversed a trend, becoming the only one of the four American women who contested the US Open semi-finals last September to reach the second round in Australia.

Sloane Stephens, Venus Williams and CoCo Vandeweghe were all eliminated on Monday.

Number 17-seeded Keys, the runner-up at the US Open, had a 6-1, 7-5 win over Wang Qiang.

Number 9 Johanna Konta beat Madison Brengle 6-3, 6-1 and will meet another American, Bernarda Pera in the second round. The US women had three wins and 14 losses in round one.

Number 1-ranked Simona Halep was in serious trouble twice – having to save set points at 5-2 down in the first set, and badly twisting her left ankle early in the second – before beating 17-year-old Australian wild-card entry Destanee Aiava 7-6 (5), 6-1.

Halep, who lost back-to-back first-round matches here in the previous two years, will next play Eugenie Bouchard, the 2014 Wimbledon finalist who beat Oceane Dodin 6-3, 7-6 (5).

"It's always really cool to go up against the best in the world," Bouchard said. "You use it as a measuring stick. I want to try to play my game and go out there and do some damage."

Other seeded players advancing included number 6 Karolina Pliskova, number 8 Caroline Garcia, number 16 Elena Vesnina, and number 29 Lucie Safarova.

Sharapova was banned for after testing positive for the drug meldonium here in 2016, when she reached the quarter-finals, and finished last year ranked number 60.

The five-time major winner could next meet number 14-seeded Anastasija Sevastova, who beat her at the US Open last year in her return to a Grand Slam to tournament.

After returning in New York, Sharapova is confident she's prepared again for a major.

"I felt like I have got a lot of things out of the way physically and emotionally and mentally last year with – there was a lot of firsts again for me, playing the first tournament, first Grand Slam, and just different feelings and what it would be routinely," she said. 

"But it felt pretty routine today."

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