Sinner wins at Rod Laver Arena, Rublev gets a scare

Jannik Sinner picked up where he left off in 2023 by easing past Botic van de Zandschulp into the second round of the Australian Open as the year's first Grand Slam got underway a day earlier than usual on Sunday.

The addition of an extra day to the tournament to help clear the first round matches left the early schedule a little light on star power.

Italian fourth seed Sinner, the hottest player on the men's tour at the back end of last season with victories over Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev, was quickly back in his groove on Rod Laver Arena.

Although far from perfect, he broke his Dutch opponent to open the contest and grabbed another break to serve for the second set before securing his place in the second round 6-4 7-5 6-3.

"It's my first match of the season and it means a lot to get a win," said Sinner, who was cheered on by the "Carota Boys", a band of fans dressed as carrots.

"It's a tournament where I would like to play as good as possible ... hopefully I can show more as I go along. The first match is never easy, I think I can be happy."

Sinner is one of a band of young guns looking to dethrone 24-times Grand Slam champion Djokovic, who gets his bid for an 11th title underway against Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic in the evening session on Rod Laver Arena.

At 26, Andrey Rublev is probably a bit old to be considered a young gun and the redheaded Russian had a much tougher time getting into round two, pushed all the way by debutant Thiago Seyboth Wild in his 7-5 6-4 3-6 4-6 7-6(6) win.

The often emotional Rublev was clearly furious at his inability to see off the Brazilian world number 78, who produced some sensational shots to frustrate the fifth seed and earn the support of the Margaret Court