Djokovic leads old guard through in Melbourne, Swiatek and Gauff progress

MELBOURNE, Jan 19 : Novak Djokovic safely negotiated the first hurdle in his quest for a 25th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open on Monday as women's title challengers Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff also eased into the second round on day two of the championships.

There were straightforward victories for Daniil Medvedev, local hope Alex De Minaur as well as top Americans Amanda Anisimova and Jessica Pegula in front of another bumper crowd of 100,763 fans at Melbourne Park.

Djokovic was last out on the Rod Laver Arena showcourt where he has won 10 of his major titles and ensured there would be no late finish with a vintage 6-3 6-2 6-2 victory over Pedro Martinez.

Martinez was eight years old back in 2006 when Djokovic last lost in the opening round of a Grand Slam and the Spaniard was unable to put sufficient pressure on the Serbian fourth seed to earn more than sympathetic applause for holding his serve.

"I'm blessed to be still playing at this level," Djokovic said after sealing his 100th Australian Open win in his first tour-level match since November.

"It always feels good at the beginning of the tournament. Let's see how I progress. Tonight's performance was definitely great, I cannot complain about anything ... let's hope for the best."

Djokovic, 38, was not the only member of the men's old guard to progress with 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka, 40, and 37-year-old Marin Cilic, who won the U.S. Open in the same year, also rolling back the years with first-round victories.

"I know I'm not as good as I was before," wildcard Wawrinka said after kicking off his final season of Grand Slam tennis with a four-set win over Laslo Djere.

"That's normal. I'm getting old. But I'm still happy with what I'm doing, always trying to push my