World number two Novak Djokovic has eased through to the second round of the Australian Open in Melbourne courtesy of a straight-sets victory over Fernando Verdasco.
The defending champion wrapped up a 6-1 7-6(4) 6-2 victory in just under three-and-a-half hours at the Rod Laver Arena.
Djokovic took the first set with ease in just 31 minutes as Verdasco repeatedly mistimed his shots, but the world number 40 broke straight away in the second and capitalised on a number of unforced errors to push the set through to a tie-breaker.
The Serb came out on top, however, and soon the writing was on the wall for the downbeat Spaniard as Djokovic broke straight away in the third set, before racing through with two more breaks to seal the victory.
Djokovic now goes on to face Denis Istomin or Ivan Dodig for a place in the third round.
Neil Wilkes
