Naomi Osaka began her Australian Open title defence in emphatic fashion, breaking the net with a blockbuster serve as she dismantled unseeded Czech Marie Bouzkova on Monday, reports AFP.
The 22-year-old Japanese, the world's second highest-paid female athlete after Serena Williams, powered through 6-2, 6-4 in 80 minutes.
The two-time Grand Slam champion, one of the prime threats to Williams's bid to win a record-equalling 24th major, will play China's Zheng Saisai in round two.
Thrid seed Osaka saw her victory march held up for a few minutes early in the second set after a fizzing serve clocked at 183 kilometres per hour (114 miles per hour) damaged a net tether at the 15,000-capacity Rod Laver Arena.
"Broke the net today," Osaka tweeted afterwards to her more than 500,000 followers, along with a video of three maintenance personnel rushing onto court to repair the broken fixture.
Osaka, who endured a turbulent 2019 after winning in Melbourne 12 months ago, was relieved to overcome the 59th-ranked Bouzkova safely.
"It was really tough for me trying to control my nerves," she said. "It's tough to play someone you've never played before in the first round of a Grand Slam. I hope I'm still standing here at the end of this week."