Former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina dished out a harsh tennis lesson to teenager Emerson Jones on Tuesday, racing into the Australian Open second round 6-1, 6-1.
The sixth seed from Kazakhstan demonstrated her pedigree as she manoeuvred the 16-year-old world junior number one from Australia to all parts of Margaret Court Arena.
Rybakina served 11 aces and lashed 26 winners as she took just 53 minutes to bring the youngster's first Grand Slam appearance to an abrupt end.
"She has a great future and many more years on tour, but I am pretty happy with my performance," said Rybakina, who lost in the final to Aryna Sabalenka two years ago.
Jones, who studies at the National Tennis Academy in Queensland, is highly rated in Australia and tipped to follow in the footsteps of former Melbourne Park champion Ash Barty.
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At 5-1 down, she showed a glimpse of her talent when she engineered three break points, only for Rybakina to fire down four consecutive aces and a forehand winner to bully her way to the first set.
Rybakina admitted that she had had to do her homework on Jones.
"I watched a bit her matches," she said. "It took me a couple of games to get used to how she hits the ball."
Rybakina courted controversy before the tournament when she wanted to bring former coach Stefano Vukov back into her team for the first Grand Slam of the year.
The Croat, who helped Rybakina win Wimbledon in 2022, is under a provisional WTA suspension having been accused of using harsh and abusive behaviour towards players.
He denies any wrongdoing and Rybakina said Vukov had never mistreated her.
RADUCANU ADVANCES DESPITE WAYWARD SERVE
A rusty Emma Raducanu said her serve felt like it had a mind of its own at times on Tuesday as she racked up 15 double faults in a 7-6(4) 7-6(2) first-round victory over Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova at the Australian Open.
The 22-year-old Briton, who has dealt with a string of injuries since capturing her only Grand Slam title at the 2021 U.S. Open, returned to action for the first time since November with her win over the 26th seed at Melbourne Park.
Raducanu has often struggled to get going after returning from spells away from the game, but she was surprised by how her serve misbehaved, with one of her double faults coming as she held a 30-0 lead when serving for the match.
"Honestly, I'm not sure what I changed in my serve today. I think it had a mind of its own. I'll be sure to reflect, look at that and come back to you," she told reporters.
"In the first set I was hitting a lot of good first serves. I hit a few aces. At the same time, I was hitting a double fault. I was quite of accepting that, okay, I'm at least going for it.
"As the balls got heavier, it was a lot more difficult. As more kept coming, it wasn't easy to refocus, but I knew even if I was down, I have great returns."
Raducanu, who missed five tournaments on the WTA's Asian swing with sprained ligaments in her foot before missing a tune-up event in Auckland with a back problem, was pleased that was able to grind out the win.
"It was good to be able to rely on other parts of my game today that I know are quite strong, as well," added Raducanu, who also sent down nine aces.
"I'm just proud I didn't let it affect me too much and let the match run away from me."
Raducanu next faces 23-year-old American Amanda Anisimova, another player who has been exposed to the spotlight at a young age after reaching the French Open semi-finals in 2019.
"I know she's a big ball-striker," Raducanu said.
"I practiced with her a couple times. She likes to dictate. So, I think it's going to be a big challenge for me."
PAOLINI IN THE MOOD AS SHE RACES INTO SECOND ROUND
Jasmine Paolini underlined her Australian Open title credentials with an almost flawless march into the second round on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old Italian inflicted a dreaded 'bagel' on Chinese qualifier Wei Sijia, who was making her Grand Slam debut, as she sprinted to a 6-0, 6-4 victory.
In 2024, Paolini became the first Italian woman to make the last 16 at all four Grand Slams in the Open Era and won the title in Dubai in a breakthrough season that propelled her into the top five.
She also reached maiden major finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon and the world number four is clearly in the mood to go all the way in Melbourne.
"Maybe everything began from here last year," said Paolini. "It gave me so much confidence.
"And it's great to be back here in Melbourne."
Paolini raced out of the blocks with an emphatic first-set performance, landing 81 percent of her first serves against the hapless world number 117.
Wei did get on the board by winning the first game of the second set.
She grew in confidence, with several drop-shot winners which gave her two early break points, though she could convert neither.
The aggressive Paolini kept up the pressure with powerful returns and groundstrokes.
She finally broke Wei again to lead 3-2 before serving out for an emphatic victory in 73 minutes.
"It's not always easy to play the first round and she was playing unbelievable," said Paolini of the second set.
"I didn't know this girl before. I never played her. I think we will see her in the top 100 soon for sure."
Paolini's next assignment will be on Thursday against American Taylor Townsend or Mexico's Renata Zarazua.