By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz kickstarted his bid for a career Grand Slam after beating 81st-ranked home player Adam Walton 6-3, 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 at Rod Laver Arena.
Alcaraz will play Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann next.
“I think this kind of level and the difficulties in the first round is pretty good for me,” said Alcaraz, who was pushed all the way in the second set.
“But overall just happy. I’m pleased about the level that I played today,” added Alcaraz, who was playing his first competitive match for nine weeks.
Alcaraz has won the US Open, Wimbledon and French Open, but Melbourne is the one Grand Slam missing from his impressive resume.
The furthest he has gone at the opening major of the year is the quarter-finals and he has made it clear that dethroning rival Jannik Sinner as champion is his main aim for 2026.
If he does so, the 22-year-old would surpass compatriot Rafael Nadal to become the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam.
Meanwhile British qualifier Arthur Fery scored the first big upset by taking down 20th seed Flavio Cobolli of Italy, 7-6 (7/1), 6-4, 6-1.
Kazakhstan’s 10th seed Alexander Bublik beat Jenson Brooksby 6-4 6-4 6-4 while fellow seeds Francisco Cerundolo, Frances Tiafoe and Corentin Moutet also advanced in straight sets.
Novak Djokovic, who is chasing a record 25th major title, begins his title assault on Monday, as does three-time runner-up Daniil Medvedev.