Ons Jabeur enjoys return to Australian Open as Andy Murray admits finish line may be near

Ons Jabeur cut a much happier and healthier figure on her return to the Australian Open as the Tunisian eased into the second round with a comfortable victory over qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva on Monday.

One year ago, Jabeur left Melbourne Park after a second-round defeat to Marketa Vondrousova, during which she was clearly struggling. As it transpired, Jabeur had an enlarged nodule obstructing her airway which prevented oxygen from reaching her lungs, and required medical assistance as she turned blue and struggled to breathe. Her coach, Issam Jellali, revealed in a new documentary about Jabeur that he thought she was "gonna die".

Now back in Australia for her latest quest to become the first Arab and African woman to win one of tennis' four major titles, Jabeur began with a 6-3, 6-1 win against Starodubtseva, the tears of 12 months ago replaced by a big, broad smile.

"It's very, very special to come back here," Jabeur, 29, said inside Margaret Court Arena after her victory. "I decided to rest a bit before coming to the Australian Open. The crowd really helped today and hopefully it'll be a much better match in the next round.

"Last year wasn't so great here, so coming back here I was a little bit stressed but seeing the crowd made me less stressed."

Jabeur opted against competing in one of the Australian Open warm-up events, and her lack of recent matches showed at the start as the sixth seed was broken in the very first game. However, she responded with a break straight back and soon assumed control with a 4-1 lead. Starodubtseva managed to get the first set back on serve with her second break for 4-3, but a marathon ninth game saw Jabeur earn her third break before clinching the opener on serve.

If the first set