• Australian Open, Day One

Federer cruises through as Davydenko crashes out

Roger Federer dropped just five games during his first-round tie against Lukas Lacko © PA Photos

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• Gallery: Australian Open: Day One

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Day One Gallery
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Australian Open women's round-up:
Wozniacki and Venus make serene progress

Roger Federer's defence of the Australian Open title got off to a smooth start as he sailed through his first-round match against Lukas Lacko.

Federer was never tested as he outclassed Lacko, clinching a 6-1 6-1 6-3 victory with a display of relentlessly aggressive tennis.

"I thought I played great," he said afterwards. "I thought it was a good match. I don't think he played too bad himself. I saw some talent in him and that's why I was really happy I chose the tactic early on to pressure him."

There was no such joy for last year's quarter-finalist Nikolay Davydenko, whose struggles continued as he suffered a 6-3 4-6 7-6 6-4 defeat to Florian Mayer. Sam Querrey was another significant casualty, falling to Lukasz Kubot after an epic battle that finished 5-7 6-2 3-6 6-1 8-6.

Novak Djokovic has a reputation for volatility, but on his good days he can beat anyone - and, against Marcel Granollers, he had one of his good days. The No. 3 seed, who sealed his only grand-slam triumph here in 2008, raced to a comprehensive 6-1 6-3 6-1 win over 91 one-sided minutes.

Granollers had no answer to Djokovic's movement as the Serb navigated the court with sublime grace, creating angles to unleash devastating groundstrokes off both flanks. He hammered 31 in all, sending a significant statement of intent out to his main rivals for the title.

Elsewhere, Gael Monfils flirted with disaster before completing a remarkable comeback against Thiemo De Bakker, coming from two sets and 5-2 down to clinch a 6-7 2-6 7-5 6-2 6-1 success. The mercurial Frenchman, seeded 12th, looked dead and buried - but De Bakker crumbled with the finish line in sight, spurning the chance to serve for the match at 5-3 up, and Monfils came thundering back.

"I just tried to make him struggle and make him earn the win," Monfils said afterwards. "I think he got tight and then started to struggle physically. And when you find the solution you have to dive on it."

Jan Hajek had no answer to Andy Roddick's bombardment, the American raining down 18 aces as he sailed into the second round. Roddick, seeded eighth, needed a mere 100 minutes to rack up a 6-1 6-2 6-2 success.

Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych gave nothing away on his first serve - winning 88% of the points on offer - as he mauled Marco Crugnola 6-4 6-0 6-2, while Mardy Fish survived a huge scare, surrendering the first two sets before carving a route to a 2-6 4-6 6-3 7-5 6-3 win over Victor Hanescu.

Meanwhile, Fernando Verdasco profited from an error-strewn performance from Rainer Schuettler, who succumbed to 35 unforced mistakes, to romp to a 6-1 6-3 6-2 victory.

For a complete run-down of all the day's scores, check out our scorecentre.

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