(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-01-15 09:41

MELBOURNE - Defending champion Serena Williams and world No 1 Justine Henin led a host of top names into the Australian Open second round yesterday, but Andy Murray became a high-profile casualty.

China's Yuan Meng plays a return to Japan's Ai Sugiyama during their first round match at the Japan Open tennis championships in Tokyo October 2, 2007. [Agencies]

While the Scottish ninth seed crashed out, men's second seed Rafael Nadal, fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko, and sixth seed Andy Roddick all progressed.

Roger Federer kickstarts his drive for a 13th Grand Slam crown today.

Women's third seed Jelena Jankovic almost joined Murray on an early plane home, narrowly avoiding a major upset in an epic encounter with 17-year-old Austrian Tamira Paszek.

The rest of the day's play went to plan with Russia's Maria Sharapova safely into the next round, where she will meet tennis mum Lindsay Davenport.

Under blazing sun, a super-fit Williams sailed past Australian qualifier Jarmila Gajdosova 6-3, 6-3 in just over an hour, but was below her best as she began her quest for a ninth Grand Slam title.

"I think everyone could probably tell I was a little scratchy. But it's the first round. Just moving forward," said the seventh seed.

Williams stunned the tennis world here last year when she beat Sharapova in the final unseeded and ranked 81 after an injury-plagued 2006.

She said the memories came flooding back when she walked out on centre court.

"Yeah, I just thought about last year, my last match on that court, I was able to win it. That's all I thought about," she said.

"I didn't think about the ceremony, holding up the trophy. I just got right back into the swing of things and thought, I have to stay focused."

Williams has highlighted top seed Henin, who won the Sydney International on Friday, and her sister Venus as her main threats.

The Belgian was given an unexpectedly tough workout by Japan's Aiko Nakamura in her match, before winning 6-2, 6-2.

Britain's Andy Murray reaches over the net during his match against France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga during their match at the Australian Open tennis tournament at Melbourne Park, January 14, 2008. [Agencies]

"The first round is not my favorite one, so I'm glad it's behind me now," said Henin, who won here in 2004 but missed last year's tournament as she finalized her divorce.

"A Grand Slam, it's tough and it's long. You need to be consistent, at your best all the time, so that's not very easy."

She is now unbeaten in 29 matches, a run stretching back to the Wimbledon semifinal last July.

Jankovic was almost bundled out by Paszek, ranked 39, before prevailing 2-6, 6-2, 12-10 in an epic three-hour, nine-minute battle.

The highly fancied Serb, who enjoyed a rapid rise through the women's rankings in 2007, gave away the first set but got back into her stride in the second.

The 22-year-old's characteristic vigor came to the fore in a thrilling third set which lasted almost two hours.

"I was just trying to stay positive somehow and I found a way to win," said a relieved Jankovic.

Davenport also came through a tough clash with Italy's Sara Errani, winning 6-2, 3-6, 7-5. The victory made her the all-time money winner in women's sport, surpassing Steffi Graf.

Among the men, Murray, the ninth seed, failed to fulfill his potential when he crashed to Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-5, 6-4, 0-6, 7-6 (5).

The Scot, who arrived here full of optimism, blamed poor decision-making and not physical preparation for the exit.

"I don't think it's anything to do with not getting to Australia early enough," he snapped at a British reporter.

"It was nothing to do with the physical thing why I lost the match. It was just a few points here or there, I think a couple of bad decisions, a couple of net cords here and there, that was the end of it.

"I'm obviously disappointed that I didn't win the match. I would have wanted to win more than anything. I gave it my best effort out there.

It was the third time in nine Grand Slams that he has been dumped out in the first round.

Nadal, who has finished the season second to Federer for the last three years, had some early wobbles against Serbia's Viktor Troicki, a qualifier ranked 126 in the world, before rallying to a 7-6 (3), 7-5, 6-1 win.

Nadal is playing in his fourth Australian Open and has progressed a round further in each of his previous appearances in Melbourne, last year beaten by eventual finalist Fernando Gonzalez in the quarterfinals.

Nadal won six titles in 2007, including the French Open, and forced Federer into a five-set thriller in the Wimbledon final.

The opening set was decided in a tiebreaker and Nadal set up four set points to go one up in just over an hour.

Troicki again proved difficult to subdue and broke the Spaniard in the third game, before Nadal broke twice in the eighth and 12th to take a stranglehold on the match with a two-sets-to-love lead.

Troicki's serve was broken in the fourth game of the final set as Nadal took command, with the Serb's game beginning to unravel.

Nadal finished strong and broke Troicki again in the sixth and served out the match.

Roddick, fresh from winning the Kooyong Classic on Saturday, had no problems coasting past Czech qualifier Lukas Dlouhy 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 in his opener.