Fourth-seeded Jannik Sinner got off to a winning start in his bid to claim his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open as the Italian player defeated unseeded Dutchman Botic Van De Zandschulp 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 in the opening round Sunday.
Sinner, who enjoyed a strong finish to 2023 by reaching the ATP Finals title clash before guiding Italy to a Davis Cup triumph, was slightly off the pace after playing no competitive matches in the buildup to the year's first major.
A Melbourne Park quarterfinalist in 2022, Sinner grabbed a break in the opening game on Rod Laver Arena and battled to hold in the next before cranking up the pressure with searing winners on both flanks to take the first set.
World No. 59 Van De Zandschulp went toe-to-toe with his opponent in the next set before Sinner sealed the decisive break for a 6-5 lead and comfortably doubled his advantage.
Sinner squandered four break points and then surrendered his serve to trail 2-0 as his forehand wobbled slightly in the third set, but he responded superbly to close out the match and book a second-round meeting with Jesper De Jong, who defeated Pedro Cachin 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.
Fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev needed four hours to beat Thiago Seyboth Wild 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (6). He later admitted fears his first-round match against Seyboth Wild would end like his friend Daniil Medvedev's did at last year's French Open: in an upset.
"For sure, I will not forget this one," said Rublev, who opened the year with a title in Hong Kong. "Thiago is a super dangerous player. Super talented. He's hitting so hard, so clean."
No. 12 Taylor Fritz needed a medical timeout to get his left ankle taped in the second set before he recovered to beat Facundo Diaz Acosta 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 in a seesawing four-hour match.
Frances Tiafoe, the 17th seed, beat Borna Coric 6-3, 7-6 (7), 2-6, 6-3 in 3½ hours, and Daniel Elahi Galan needed almost five hours to beat Australia's Jason Kubler 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-6 (8).
In other matches, Italian Matteo Arnaldi beat Adam Walton 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-4 in the first round. The first match to go the full five sets was won by Francisco Cerundolo, the 22nd-seeded Argentinian edging out Australian Dane Sweeny 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.
Marin Cilic, the runner-up in 2018, was beaten 6-1, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 by Fabian Marozsan of Hungary.
Later Sunday, unseeded Matteo Berrettini withdrew from the tournament with a foot injury. He had been slated to play a first-round match against Stefanos Tsitsipas but will be replaced by Zizou Bergs.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.