Australian Open 2019: Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams and All Tuesday's Results

Novak Djokovic opened his 2019 Australian Open campaign with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Mitchell Krueger on Tuesday and will face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the next stage of the competition.

The world No. 1 got off to a scrappy start in Melbourne but emerged triumphant following an at-times tricky test as he searches for a record seventh title.

Tsonga is still on his way back to full fitness following several setbacks due to knee injuries in 2018, but he beat Martin Klizan 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (5) to advance. Elsewhere, No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev moved into the second round after defeating Aljaz Bedene 6-4, 6-1, 6-4.

Kamil Majchrzak almost produced one of the biggest upsets of the first round but succumbed to eighth seed Kei Nishikori after leading by two sets. Nishikori fought back to 3-6, 6-7 (6), 6-0, 6-2, 3-0 before his opponent had to retire due to cramp in the fifth set.

Women's world No. 1 Simona Halep came closer than she would have wanted to a surprise first-round exit but found the quality to come back from a set down and defeat Kaia Kanepi 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-2.

Meanwhile, fourth seed Naomi Osaka is hoping to win back-to-back majors after her success at last year's U.S. Open, and she confidently beat Magda Linette 6-4, 6-2 to proceed into the second stage of the contest.

Serena Williams entered the Australian Open seeded at No. 16 and eased past Tatjana Maria 6-0, 6-2. Older sister Venus also clinched a second-round spot in the same section of the women's draw after she staged a comeback to overcome No. 25 seed Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-7 (3), 7-6 (3), 6-2.

Tuesday's Top Results

Men's Singles

(1) Novak Djokovic bt. Mitchell Krueger: 6-3, 6-2, 6-2

(4) Alexander Zverev bt. Aljaz Bedene: 6-4, 6-1, 6-4

(8) Kei Nishikori bt. Kamil Majchrzak (Ret.): 3-6, 6-7 (6), 6-0, 6-2, 3-0

(11) Borna Coric bt. Steve Darcis: 6-1, 6-4, 6-4

(12) Fabio Fognini bt. Jaume Munar (Ret.): 7-6 (3), 7-6 (7), 3-1

(15) Daniil Medvedev bt. Lloyd Harris: 6-1, 6-2, 6-1

(16) Milos Raonic bt. Nick Kyrgios: 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-4

Filip Krajinovic bt. (17) Marco Cecchinato: 4-6, 0-6, 6-1, 7-6 (8), 6-4

Alex Bolt bt. Jack Sock: 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2

Stanislas Wawrinka bt. Ernests Gulbis (Ret.): 3-6, 3-1

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga bt. Martin Klizan: 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (5)

Jeremy Chardy bt Ugo Humbert: 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (6)

Women's Singles

(1) Simona Halep bt. Kaia Kanepi: 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-2

(4) Naomi Osaka bt. Magda Linette: 6-4, 6-2

(6) Elina Svitolina bt. Viktorija Golubic: 6-1, 6-2

(7) Karolina Pliskova bt. Karolina Muchova: 6-3, 6-2

(12) Elise Mertens bt. Anna Karolina Schmiedlova: 6-2, 7-5

(16) Serena Williams bt. Tatjana Maria: 6-0, 6-2

(17) Madison Keys bt. Destanee Aiava: 6-2, 6-2

(18) Garbine Muguruza bt. Saisai Zheng: 6-2, 6-3

(21) Wang Qiang bt. Fiona Ferro: 6-4, 6-3

(23) Carla Suarez Navarro bt. Clara Burel: 7-5, 6-2

Venus Williams bt. (25) Mihaela Buzarnescu: 6-7 (3), 7-6 (3), 6-2

Eugenie Bouchard bt. Shuai Peng: 6-2, 6-1

Visit the Australian Open website to see the results in full.

Recap

Krueger, 25, had the unenviable task of taking on tournament favourite Djokovic in Tuesday's first-round clash, where it was actually the Serb who suffered the first break to trail 1-2 early in the first set.

That wake-up call may have worked against Krueger, who suffered an immediate break back. That initial dent was the only break Nole conceded during their match, although his American foe didn't go down without a fight and displayed a fine range of shots in the longer rallies:

Krueger battled to the end and defended a 24-point game in the third set that saw him save five break points alone. But not long after that small success, he suffered his fifth and sixth breaks of the match to put the result beyond doubt.

Djokovic saw 14 break points saved in total but pulled off the key shots to advance nonetheless, and Gracenote put into context his recent streak of unbeaten form at major competitions: 

Zverev was tested in a similar fashion by Bedene and also suffered the first break in their encounter, albeit still winning in straight sets 6-4, 6-1, 6-4.

One of the German's chief priorities in Grand Slam competition is to refine his play and save stamina for the latter stages, but he remarked post-match that he was still aware of some sloppy patterns to his play:

Zverev will meet Jeremy Chardy in the next round after the Frenchman edged compatriot Ugo Humbert in five sets, 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (6). 

No. 8 seed Nishikori encountered more of a fight than he might have expected from Majchrzak. The 23-year-old Pole snatched a two-set lead before Nishikori levelled and was leading 3-0 in the fifth, decisive set before having to bow out of the fixture due to cramp.

One of those hoping to earn his way back into the seeds is Stanislas Wawrinka, who advanced despite not winning a set on Tuesday. He surrendered the opener to Ernests Gulbis 3-6 but rescued some momentum to lead 3-1 in the second when his opponent retired, but not before showcasing his renowned backhand:

Australia's Nick Kyrgios may have had home advantage over 16th seed Milos Raonic, but that didn't prevent him from falling in the first round of this tournament for the first time in his career.

Canadian star Raonic had to be patient across two particularly tense opening sets but clinched the crucial winners. The third set wasn't as close between the pair, though, as Kyrgios appeared to lose some of his will, and the favourite advanced with a terrific ace to finish:

Women's top seed Halep encountered heavy resistance from Kanepi, who demonstrated just how much power she can pack:

Class won out in the end, though, and it was really Kanepi's 62 unforced errors that let her opponent off the hook. To contrast, Halep committed only 19 unforced errors, only four of which came in the third set.

Serena Williams, 37, won the Australian Open in 2017 and got a successful start to the competition underway against against Maria, who was blown away 6-0, 6-2.

The German underdog won a total of five points across Williams' seven service games and struggled to compete with her opponent's quality even on her own serve. The seven-time champion spoke of what this competition means to her as she targets an eighth crown in Melbourne:

To accomplish that, she may need to oust Venus from the running, which could be a stiff challenge after her older sister came from behind to beat Buzarnescu 6-7 (3), 7-6 (3), 6-2.

Tennis writer Ben Rothenberg illustrated the potential difficulty of her route to the final:

Sixth seed Elina Svitolina and seventh seed Karolina Pliskova each advanced following rather routine wins against Viktorija Golubic and Karolina Muchova, respectively.

American Madison Keys also booked a second-round berth thanks to her 6-2, 6-2 win over Melbourne's Destanee Aiava, and she'll meet Russian Anastasia Potapova next.