Novak Djokovic made no mistake in his bid for a record third straight Australian Open title, calmly getting past the potential banana skin opponent Paul-Henri Mathieu.
The world number one rarely put a foot wrong in his opening tie of the Australian Open, securing a 6-2, 6-4, 7-5 victory over his French opponent as the Serbian looks to become the first person to win three consecutive Australian Open titles in the open era.
Djokovic said he played at his highest level right from the beginning owing to Mathieu's quality; the Frenchman was a former top-20 player, before injuries disrupted his career.
"I was very committed from the start of this match today because I knew the quality of my opponent, you know," Djokovic told reporters after the win. "He has been on the tour for a while and he played the finals of Davis Cup. He had lots of success. (He was a) top 20 player.
"As you can see, he can go out there and play equally well as anybody. You know, if it's in his striking zone, and I tried to move him around the court, I did well.
Djokovic eased through in the first two sets, but Mathieu put up some stiff resistance in the third set, before the Serbian's experience saw him through, getting the crucial break in the 11th game.
"It was a good performance for a first round," Djokovic added. "I felt I was in control of the match in the opening two sets. Then he started playing better, striking the ball quite well from both sides on the baseline. I thought he was serving really precisely and really well.
"It was tough to break. But in the end, that 11th game, I made some good shots, good points, managed to go through straight sets.
Djokovic will next face Ryan Harrison, after the American saw of the challenge of Santiago Hiraldo of Colombia 2-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4.
"He's one of these up and coming young talents who has been playing well on the tour for last few years," Djokovic said of his next opponent. "He likes playing on hard courts. "I think he had lots of success in U.S. hard court tournaments.
"He has a big serve which he likes to use and big forehand. I played him few times before on different surfaces. I know what it takes to win that match."
In other matches, fifth seed Tomas Berdych beat American Michael Russell 6-3, 7-5, 6-3, while Fernando Verdasco was made to sweat by Belgian David Goffin before eventually prevailing 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Nicolas Almagro, Stanislas Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori and Jurgen Melzer also booked places for themselves in the second round.
