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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 17: Rafael Nadal of Spain plays a backhand in his first round match against Florian Mayer of Germany on day two of the 2017 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 17, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Nadal defeated Florian Mayer in straight sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

Five years after their last meeting, Rafael Nadal beat Florian Mayer 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in a first-round match at Melbourne Park.

The pair last met on clay at Rome in 2012, when Nadal won in straight sets.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 17: Milos Raonic of Canada plays a backhand in his first round match against Dustin Brown of Germany on day two of the 2017 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 17, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Raonic and Brown met for the first time in the first round of last year’s U.S. Open, where Raonic won in straight sets.

On Tuesday, Raonic defeated Brown 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.

Last year as the 13th-seeded player, Raonic had his best performance at Melbourne Park, advancing to the semifinals before losing to Andy Murray.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 17: Serena Williams of the United States prepares to return serve in her first round match against Belinda Bencic of Switzerland on day two of the 2017 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 17, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Williams broke the Swiss player’s service in the 10th game to clinch the first set. In the second set, she pulled out to a 5-0 lead but Bencic staged a comeback, breaking Williams’ serve the first time she served for the match.

Serving for the match at 5-3, Williams double-faulted on her first match point before clinching it on her second when Bencic netted a backhand.

The last time the pair met – in the Toronto semifinals in 2015 – Bencic won in three sets.

Watch Duckhee Lee’s TenniStory

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 17: Nicole Gibbs of the United States plays a backhand in her first round match against Timea Babos of Hungary on day two of the 2017 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 17, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Pat Scala/Getty Images)

Gibbs won the match 7-6(3), 6-4.

More to come…

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 17: Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic celebrates winning her first round match against Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain on day two of the 2017 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 17, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Pliskova has backed up her strong performance at last year’s U.S. Open with a first-round win at Melbourne Park, beating Sorribes Tormo 6-2, 6-0 to open play Tuesday at Rod Laver Arena.

The fifth-seeded Pliskova, who beat Serena Williams in the semifinals at Flushing Meadows last year before losing the U.S. Open final to Angelique Kerber, took a 4-1 first-set lead in under 20 minutes.

Pliskova has never advanced past the third round at Melbourne Park, losing each of the last two years at that stage to Ekaterina Makarova.

Despite being thousands of miles from home, Australian artists have always found a warm welcome on the U.S. Billboard charts. Superstars from Down Under have flown up the charts on countless occasions, bringing a savvy mix of pop and rock smashes to American audiences. In the past several decades, Aussie acts have earned a compelling portfolio of No. 1 songs and albums, and established several chart records as they’ve taken the U.S. (and the world) by storm.

List of Acts:

10. Men At Work

Here is the list of from 10-25:

10. DOWN UNDER   Men At Work

This year, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and other stars of the game seem better prepared. They’ve got their talking points ready – and they can even have a sense of humor about the subject.

”I thought we were going to finish on a good one,” Federer quipped when a match-fixing question was asked at the very end of his pre-tournament news conference on Saturday.

Then he smiled. It most likely won’t be the last he’ll ever be asked, either.

Last season’s tournament began beneath a cloud of suspicion after a report by BBC and BuzzFeed alleged that tennis authorities had overlooked suspected cases of match-fixing involving some top players, none of whom were named. Federer, in response, called the situation ”super serious” and argued that anyone who engages in match-fixing should be identified publicly.

In the past year, this is what tennis authorities have tried to do. Nine players and officials were sanctioned by the Tennis Integrity Unit in 2016 – the most in a single year since the body was created in 2008. In the first two weeks of this year, six more were added to the list.

Matches of Intrigue

American Reilly Opelka: Grand Slam debut vs. David Goffin

A year ago, Reilly Opelka was ranked 981 in the world.  He’s since soared to 208 and this past week won three matches in the Australian Open qualifying to earn his first spot in the main draw of a major.  One inch shy of seven feet tall, the 19-year-old Opelka is an impressive player.  As you’d expect, the serve is off the charts.  But as one notable coach told me last weekend, “the volleys are very nice.”  Opelka’s fellow tall American, John Isner, has also noted that he is significantly better than Isner was at that age.  Opelka’s Slam debut comes versus a man one foot shorter than him, 11th-seeded David Goffin.  It’s a fascinating contrast between Opelka’s thunder and potential versus Goffin’s experienced, toothpick-by-toothpick way of assembling points.  Figure on at least one tiebreaker.

Samantha Stosur vs. Heather Watson

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 16: Andy Murray of Great Britain plays a backhand in his first round match against Illya Marchenko of the Ukraine on day one of the 2017 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 16, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Murray defeated Illya Marchenko in straight sets 7-5, 7-6(5), 6-2.

More to come…

She took away enough experience from her 6-3, 7-6 (4) loss to Mona Barthel to last a lifetime, she said, and received some advice from the biggest name in the women’s game several days before she even stepped on court.

And she fully expects to be back.

“This isn’t the first and the last time I’m going to be here,” said Aiava, a 16-year-old Melbourne high school student who received a wild card to enter the season’s first major. “There’s plenty more to come.”

Last week, she had a short practice session with Serena Williams, the 22-time Grand Slam champion and the inspiration for Aiava’s career.

Aiava was 5 when she watched one of the Williams’ matches on TV, and told her parents that tennis was going to be her career.

Australian Open Media Day with Top Players

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 15: Novak Djokovic of Serbia volleys during a practice session ahead of the 2017 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 15, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 16: Venus Williams of the USA serves in her first round match against Kateryna Kozlova of the Ukraine on day one of the 2017 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 16, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Williams won the match 7-6 (5), 7-5.

More to come…

Japan's Kei Nishikori hits a backhand against Russia's Andrey Kuznetsov during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 16, 2017. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill)

The fifth seed defeated Andrey Kuznetsov in a five-set thriller 5-7. 6-1, 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-2.

More to come…

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 05: Garbine Muguruza of Spain celebrates winning her quarter final match against Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia during day five of the 2017 Brisbane International at Pat Rafter Arena on January 5, 2017 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig raced through her opening match, beating Patricia Tig 6-0, 6-1. Duan Yingying was among the early winners with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Rebecca Sramkova.

Australian teenager Destanee Aiava’s milestone match ended in a 6-3, 7-6 (4) loss to German qualifier Mona Barthel. The 16-year-old Melbourne high school student became the first player born in this millennium to play a main draw match at a major.

Jeremy Chardy was the first winner on the men’s side, and only played four games. He was leading 4-0 when Nicolas Almagro retired from their match with an injured right calf muscle.

HOBART, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 11: Shelby Rogers of the USA celebrates winning a point in her second round match against Lara Arruabarrena of Spain during day two of the 2017 Hobart International at Domain Tennis Centre on January 11, 2017 in Hobart, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

Rogers made a surprising run to the French Open quarterfinals before losing to eventual champion Garbine Muguruza last year, when she was ranked No. 108, but only advanced to the second round at one other tournament in 2016. Her only previous win against a top 10 player was in 2014, when she beat then No. 8-ranked Eugenie Bouchard in Montreal.

”There are no easy matches at this level … so I’m happy to get through and definitely take confidence from what I did today,” Rogers said in her on-court interview.

Seventh-seeded Muguruza saved a set point in the first set and needed a medical timeout before advancing with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Marina Erakovic.

United States' Serena Williams, left, talks with Australian player Destanee Aiava during a promotional event on Margaret Court Arena ahead of the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017. Aiava will be the first player born this century to play in the main draw match at a tennis major. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

The 16-year-old Melbourne high school student got a wild-card entry to the season’s first major. She was playing German qualifier Mona Barthel in the opening match on Show Court 2. Her match started at 11:13 a.m. local time, with Barthel on serve.

Play on the Rod Laver Arena got started with No 4-seeded Simona Halep against Shelby Rogers.

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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 01: Rafael Nadal of Spain and Roger Federer of Switzerland pose for photographers before their men's final match during day fourteen of the 2009 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on February 1, 2009 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Watch full match on Tennis Channel Plus

Nadal had outlasted fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in an exhilarating five-set semifinal match that lasted more than five hours, and it looked like he would not have enough gas to challenge Federer, who had a straight-sets win in his semifinal match against former world No. 1 Andy Roddick.

Both reached the top of the rankings for the first time near the end of 2016, ending long reigns by Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams.

And so they’ll open their Australian Open campaigns on Rod Laver Arena on day one – both against Ukrainians.

Murray, a five-time runner-up, opens his pursuit of a first Australian title against Illya Marchenko in the last day match on the main show court. Kerber opens the night session against Lesia Tsurenko. She’ll be followed on court by Roger Federer, who is returning from six months on the sidelines.

The `one-round-at-a-time’ cliche is well worn in tennis. For Kerber, though, it’s pertinent. Seeded seventh last year, the left-handed German had to save a match point in the first round against Misaki Doi. Spurred on by that, she went on to beat Serena Williams in the final and claim her first Grand Slam title. She added a second major at the U.S. Open and ascended to the No 1 ranking.

”I think this point where I was match point down, that was the important point for my career,” Kerber said Sunday, speaking of her first-round escape against Doi. ”You never know (if) I lost the match, what would have happened.”

Hello from Melbourne, where over the next two weeks I’ll be deep in the thick of things with Tennis Channel’s Australian Open production team – in the booth with our announcers during matches, in the studio for our pre-game show and overall, embedded in bringing you our broadcast of the event Roger Federer has dubbed, “The Happy Slam.”

No better way to start than with a shot outside the newly opened statue honoring the man with a stadium that bears his name.  Yes, that’s Rod Laver, a bit more stiff than in the days when he was whipping shots into all corners of the court.  Then again, usually it’s only the great ones who get statues made and stadiums named.  While the man nicknamed “Rocket” is unquestionably the greatest Aussie of them all, Laver’s comportment is such that he knows he is just one member of an incredible community of champions.  As competitors, sportsmen and comrades-in-arms, no nation in tennis history brings the spirit of tennis to life better than Australia.  Over the course of this fortnight, expect me to sprinkle in mentions of a few of Rod’s fellow legends, both homegrown and beyond.      

Day One Intrigue:  Coco Vandeweghe versus Roberta Vinci

Fascinating style contrast.  Vandeweghe is the hammer, pounding away with her exceptional serve and powerful forehand. Vinci wields the stiletto, attempting to carve into the crevices with her slice backhand and all-court prowess.  Though Vandeweghe has won two of their three encounters – including the most recent in the third round of Wimbledon last year – the 25-year-old American also hasn’t won a WTA match since last August, dropping her last five matches of 2016.  But do three wins in Hopman Cup help Coco’s cause?  Vinci began this year with a quarterfinal run in Brisbane.  But at this stage of her career, this is the kind of match a maturing Vandeweghe should win.  Still, the difference between these two is appealing and could likely trigger significant emotions and technical breakdowns from each.