Djokovic sizzles in opener

Novak Djokovic defied sweltering conditions to ease into the second round of the Australian Open.

Serbian Djokovic, who won the trophy in Melbourne 12 months ago at the start of a remarkable year which also saw him emerge victorious at Wimbledon and the US Open, made a convincing start to his title defence against Paolo Lorenzi, winning 6-2 6-0 6-0 on Rod Laver Arena.

His Italian opponent posed few questions but the searing heat did provide Djokovic with the odd headache. He said of the conditions: "I just need a bit more time to get used to them because the last 10 days or so since I arrived in Melbourne it was quite cold and very windy."

As for the match, he added: "It took me a couple of games to find my rhythm but I think I played well after the first set."

Djokovic used the lack of genuine competition to experiment, making regular excursions to the net.

"When you're 3-0, 4-0 up why not try some other things, some things that are not usual characteristics of your game," he said.

"I am definitely working on my net game and am trying to approach the short balls as much as I can and take my chances."

Fifth seed David Ferrer also advanced, dropping just seven games in a straight-sets win over Portuguese Rui Machado.

Gael Monfils, who is seeded to meet Andy Murray in round four, beat Australian wild card Marinko Matosevic 7-6 (7/5) 6-3 6-3 and his French compatriot Richard Gasquet overcame Italy's Andreas Seppi 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-1.

There were also wins for ninth seed Janko Tipsarevic and Milos Raonic, the 23rd seed tipped by many as an outsider for the title.