World No 1 Novak Djokovic downed Mitchell Krueger of the US 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in the first round of the Australian Open here on Tuesday.
The Serbian cruised into the second round, following in the footsteps of his chief rivals, world No 2 Rafael Nadal and Swiss legend and world No 3 Roger Federer, reports Efe news.
Young Krueger drew first blood breaking Djokovic's serve, but from then on the Serbian pulled up his socks and wrapped up the match in straight sets.
"Playing Krueger for the first time, I didn't really know what to expect. I did my homework, tried to do some research on him, but it was quite tricky and quite different playing him. It was a very competitive match," said Djokovic.
The world No 1, who arrived in Melbourne after losing to Spain's Roberto Bautista in the semifinals at Doha, is bidding for his 15th grand slam title.
In the next round, he will face Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who won his first round match against Martin Klizan of Slovakia and had reached the semifinals of the Brisbane International prior to this tournament.
--IANS
kk/mr
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