Dokic scare for Davenport

Roshan Paul

An in-form Andre Agassi, Anna Kournikova attired in gold, and victories for second seeds Marat Safin and Lindsay Davenport. Of such was the first day's play at the Australian Open, the first major tennis tournament of the new year.

On a bright sunny day in Melbourne, defending champion Andre Agassi strolled through to the second round with a 6-0, 7-5, 6-3 victory over the Czech Republic's Jiri Vanek. At the end of the game, a confident Agassi said "I'm very pleased with the way the match went. There really wasn't anything I was disappointed with in my play."

Seeded six, Agassi is hoping to successfully defend his Australian Open title, something that only 13 previous players have been able to accomplish.

Meanwhile, the ever-popular Anna Kournikova dazzled Flinders Park by appearing in a black and gold outfit (including gold shoes) that she herself had a hand in designing. However, her attire didn't quite faze her seventeen-year-old Slovakian opponent, who led 4-2 in the second set before going down 6-2, 7-5 to the eighth seeded Russian.

Although 12th seed Pat Rafter easily overcame American Scott Draper 6-3, 6-2, 7-5, it wasn't an ideal day for the hosts as four Australian men, including Jason Stoltenberg and Todd Woodbridge, dropped out within the first few hours of the tournament's opening.

Commendably, Jelena Dokic was able to put the controversy over her nationality behind her as she gave second seed Lindsay Davenport a real run for her money. In a tough first round encounter, the American eventually prevailed 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

In other results, fourth seed Monica Seles became the first player to reach the second round when her first-round opponent forfeited the game due to an injury. Fifth seeded Spaniard Conchita Matinez who, literally, strolled to a 6-1, 6-1 triumph over Australian Christina Wheeler, joined her there.

While the teenage stars may be hogging the headlines, the old guard will be trying to ensure that they don't get too big for their boots.

On the men's side, second seed Marat Safin, one of the favorites for the title, defeated Spaniard Galo Blanco 6-4, 1-6, 6-4, 7-6. Despite carrying a slight elbow injury, Safin appeared supremely confident about his chances, saying: "I won one time and I can feel that I have enough power. I have everything to win a Grand Slam tournament."

Eighth seed Tim Henman overcame a slow start to beat Moroccan Hicham Arazi 7-6, 6-4, 6-4. Gold Flake Open champion Michal Tabara found things harder in Melbourne than in Madras as he had to battle hard to overcome Italian Andre Gaudenzi 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.

The first day's play, while being largely uneventful, has nicely whetted tennis fans' appetites in anticipation of an exciting two weeks of high quality tennis. Whoever eventually holds aloft the trophy on January 28, would likely have heeded Agassi's advice to take things one match at a time and "make sure you're doing all the right things, and then stepping up above and beyond in some cases by getting more aggressive or by being more patient. So it's about doing the right thing in each match. "

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