A rampaging Roger Federer kicked off his 17th Australian Open campaign with a 6-2 6-1 6-2 demolition of Georgian battler Nikoloz Basilashvili to reach the second round on Monday.
The 17-times grand slam champion shone under the lights of Rod Laver Arena to wrap up the match in one hour and 12 minutes, putting on a clinic of clean hitting.
Federer struck 31 winners in the one-sided rout to preserve his perfect record of surviving the opening round at the year’s first grand slam.
The Swiss world number three will next play Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Meanwhile world number one and defending champion Novak Djokovic marched imperiously into the second round of the Australian Open with a dominant 6-3 6-2 6-4 victory over Chung Hyeon on Monday.
The 28-year-old Serb looked as untroubled by the Melbourne heat as he was by the South Korean teenager in the 115-minute contest, charging around Rod Laver Arena and rattling off 40 winners.
World number 51 Chung showed he had some impressive weapons at his disposal, particularly in the opening set, but was not always able to convert his best shots into points.
The 19-year-old stalled Djokovic's progress in an absorbing fifth match of the second set, holding serve after eight deuces, but the five-times champion soon advanced to a second round date with either French teenager Quentin Halys or Ivan Dodig.
