MELBOURNE: Novak Djokovic survived a scare in his quest for tennis history before following Carlos Alcaraz and defending champion Jannik Sinner into the second round of the Australian Open on Monday.

But Greek former finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas and home favorite Nick Kyrgios both fell at the first hurdle, with the combustible Australian going out swearing and in pain.

In the women’s draw, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff powered through with minimum fuss as they launched their bids to dethrone two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka.

Another winner was two-time Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka, who defeated France’s Caroline Garcia 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

On a blockbuster second day in Melbourne, Djokovic lost the first set to 107th-ranked American Nishesh Basavareddy in the prime-time evening match on Rod Laver Arena.

But the Serbian great, hoping to roll back the years and win an 11th Australian Open and record 25th Grand Slam singles title, recovered to ease through 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.

In front of new coach and former rival Andy Murray, Djokovic struggled to raise a smile in the immediate aftermath.

“At the end, it was great but I think he was the better player for a set and a half,” said the 37-year-old.

Italian world No. 1 Sinner was warmly welcomed on Rod Laver Arena before defeating Chile’s Nicolas Jarry 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/5), 6-1.

Sinner is playing under a cloud after twice testing positive for traces of a steroid in March.

He denies wrongdoing and was cleared by tennis authorities, but the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed and is seeking to ban him for up to two years.

“I was curious to see how it was. You never know what’s happening,” he said about the reception.

“I was happy about the crowd,” added Sinner, who has not tasted defeat since losing to Alcaraz in the Beijing final in October.

Alcaraz, a four-time Grand Slam champion but never a winner in Melbourne, had a couple of hairy moments before seeing off Kazakhstan’s Alexander Shevchenko, 6-1, 7-5, 6-1.

“This is a tournament I really want to win one day, hopefully this year,” said the 21-year-old Spaniard.

There was disappointment for home fans as the colorful but temperamental Kyrgios, only recently back from 18 months out with injury, lost 7-6 (7/3), 6-3, 7-6 (7/2) to Britain’s Jacob Fearnley.

Kyrgios spoke to physios multiple times in the second set after wincing in pain while serving and fired expletives at his coaching box.

The 11th-seeded Tsitsipas became the first major casualty when Alex Michelsen blasted past him 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.

The 26-year-old Greek, who played Djokovic in the 2023 final at Melbourne Park, never looked comfortable against the 42nd-ranked American.

“It just sucks in a way that I’ll be hanging around for quite a while now before my next tournament comes in,” said Tsitsipas.

Two-time US Open semifinalist Frances Tiafoe vomited twice on court before pulling through in five sets against Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech.

The women’s draw provided few upsets on day two.

Red-hot world No. 3 Gauff laid down a marker as she swept aside former Melbourne champion and fellow American Sofia Kenin.

Gauff is unbeaten this year after leading the US to United Cup glory and eased past the 2020 Australian Open winner 6-3, 6-3 in 80 minutes.

“I knew it was going to be difficult, but you know, I’m happy with how I played,” said Gauff, the 2023 US Open champion.

World No. 2 Swiatek defeated Czech doubles specialist Katerina Siniakova 6-3, 6-4 to get her tournament up and running.

The Pole has won five Grand Slams but her best performance at Melbourne Park is the semifinals in 2022.

“For sure it wasn’t an easy first round, so I’m happy that I’m through,” said Swiatek.

US Open finalist Jessica Pegula, the seventh-seeded American, blew away home player Maya Joint 6-3, 6-0.

Victoria Azarenka, the 2012 and 2013 champion, was a notable early loser as the Belarusian went down 6-2, 7-6 (7/2) to Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti.

DUBAI: Last year was not one that Tunisian tennis superstar Ons Jabeur will remember with great fondness.

Having enthralled fans with her unique brand of tennis in the two previous years, reaching two Wimbledon finals and hitting the world No.2 ranking, 2024 was beset by injuries and disruptions.

As Jabeur prepares to launch her Australian Open campaign against Anhelina Kalinina of the Ukraine, she is determined to get back to the form that her army of supporters had come to expect of her.

“I’m feeling much better, happy to be back,” she told Arab News. “I feel like I’m playing good, I’m getting back into the game. I feel very motivated and definitely very positive. I can continue playing even better and the good news is there are a lot of great things to improve.”

Since landing in Australia at the start of the year, Jabeur has taken part in the Brisbane International, where she reached the quarterfinals, as well as the Adelaide International. Improving her form, and not her current WTA world ranking of 39, is the priority.

“I feel like ranking maybe would be a bit irrelevant in this case because if I focus a lot on it, I might kind of not see the level that I was in (before). I was in the top 10 for a good time and I think I need to always remember that I have that level to be one of the great players in the world.

“I always say the most important thing is that I should have the level and the ranking will follow up no matter how much time it will take.

“It is very important for me to get back to my game, and definitely improve a lot of points in my game. That would help me be a better player, especially, playing against these unbelievable players, they’re improving all the time and tennis is improving all the time. And I think it is really important for me to keep up with that game.”

Despite a tough year, Jabeur is now looking forward to mixing it with the next generation of players, for whom she has plenty of praise.

“It’s very impressive. A lot of things are growing very fast, (there are) a lot of unbelievable players,” she said.  “You can see the level is super close between different players and it’s definitely an honor for me to be part of this generation, they are younger than me, but playing at the same time, it’s great to see that.

“It’s definitely motivating to get back on to the court and try to impose my game, because I know my game is a bit different than any other player and the challenge is kind of exciting.”

The Arab tennis hero is confident that she can return to the form she showed in 2022 and 2023.

“Definitely, yes. I think it’s a matter of time, a matter of motivation, and how mentally I feel about it because I always say if you’re mentally ready, and if in your head you’re ready, you can achieve anything. I think your body will follow and everything will follow.

“Now I think I have more experience than in 2022, which is a bonus I could use. But I’m definitely ready to get back into the game, to fight hard and leave everything on the court.”

Aside from her personal targets on court, Jabeur continues to be an inspiration for young Arab tennis talent, Both female and male.

“Of course, it’s one of my goals,” she said. “One of my dreams is to see our players playing on tour. I think we have the talent, I think we have so many motivated players to play on tour and I can say nothing is impossible.

“Just training from Tunisia, I discovered a lot of things and like I said, I’m happy to share my experience and … one day when I’m 100 percent focused, on maybe giving back more. That’s something I really want to do, and I think our region deserves to have more and more champions at international level.”

Saudi Arabia recently awarded citizenship to 15-year-old French tennis player Maysan Hussein, who is of Tunisian origin, and Jabeur believes such moves can help more players get a platform to realise their potential.

“I know Maysan, I met her and met her father, very nice people. Every player deserves the support, deserves to be there, deserves to not think about how much everything will cost. They just need to focus on their training and doing their best. And what Saudi and other countries are doing is really great and I hope they can help her and they can set a good program for her. I wish her well.”