Three-time Australian Open champion Serena Williams reached the second round of the first Grand Slam of the year with a 6-3 6-2 victory over world No.123 Meng Yuan of China.

Williams didn’t lose any of her service games and won the match after 75 minutes on her first match point.

I have to say that Serena’s dress surprised me. She’s wearing nothing like we had expected. Oh well, we’ve learned so far that those predictions of future outfits should be taken with a grain of salt.

In the second round Serena Williams will play either Anastasiya Yakimova of Belarus or Gisela Dulko of Argentina. (photo: Getty Images)

One of the biggest favorites for the Australian Open crown, fourth seed Elena Dementieva, didn’t advance into the second round of the tournament unchallenged. The Russian’s first-round opponent was world No.88 Kristina Barrois of Germany.

Barrois was leading 5-2 in the first set and even had a set point. Dementieva came back, winning four consecutive games for a 6-5 lead and her own serve followed. She was broken in the 12th game, but eventually won the set in a tiebreak.

In the second set Dementieva was trailing 5-2 again, but this time she surrendered and Barrois won the set. Still, the world No.4 cruised through the deciding set and won the first career meeting with Barrois 7-6(4) 2-6 6-1.

Dementieva remained undefeated in 2009, and has already won two WTA singles titles this year, in Auckland and in Sydney.

Other notable results so far on the second day of the Australian Open: No.9 seed Agnieszka Radwanska was upset by Kateryna Bondarenko 7-6(7) 4-6 6-1. Seed No.13 Victoria Azarenka advanced to the second round with a 6-2 6-1 win over Petra Kvitova, while No.28 seed Francesca Schiavone lost to Shuai Peng 7-6(4) 6-1. (photo: Getty Images)

I was interested in the outcomes of the first-round matches home favorites Jelena Dokic and Casey Dellacqua were playing on day one of the 2009 Australian Open.

Dokic, who had earned a wildcard into the main draw, registered her first win at Melbourne Park in a decade by beating Austria's Tamira Paszek 6-2 3-6 6-4.

"I went through hell and back," said Dokic, her voice cracking as tears welled in her eyes.

"I pretty much lost my family. I had no-one there. I was really struggling.

"I battled severe depression for about two years. I didn't play for months at a time. I was really seriously thinking about not playing. It was a tough time in my life."

I’m really happy for Dokic, I would like this Wimbledon semifinalist and former world number four to revive her shattered career. She has just made an excellent step forward.

Dokic's next opponent will be 17th seed Anna Chakvetadze, who went past British No.1 Anne Keothavong.

Last year’s Australian sensation, Casey Dellacqua, was defeated in the first round 7-6(11) 6-4 by Slovakian No.9 seed Daniela Hantuchova. In 2008 Dellacqua reached the fourth round, having beaten two Top 20 players en route.

Let’s just mention which seeds fell on the first day. Hungarian hope Agnes Szavay, seeded 23rd at the Australian Open, continued her slide with a loss to world No.95 Galina Voskoboeva 6-3 3-6 6-4. Gorgeous Stella McCartney designs again didn’t get enough exposure, as No.27 seed Maria Kirilenko couldn't make it past round one, losing to Sara Errani 6-0 6-4. No.24 seed Sybille Bammer was beaten by Lucie Safarova 6-3 6-1. (photos: Getty Images)

Unlike struggling compatriot Ana Ivanovic, world number one and top seed Jelena Jankovic cruised past Austria’s Yvonne Meusburger 6-1 6-3 to move into the second round of the 2009 Australian Open.

The Serb defeated the 104th-ranked Meusburger in 69 minutes. Jankovic easily won the first set, while the second set was longer and more difficult, but still at no moment was her win questioned.

Since the Austrian wasn't too much of a challenge for Jankovic, let’s switch our focus from tennis to JJ’s new apparel. As you know, in this first-round match Jankovic was premiering the clothes of her new sponsor, the Chinese brand called ANTA.

What do you think of JJ’s Australian Open dress? I find it good, but I was hoping for something more extraordinary. The color is fresh and looks nice in the Australian sun, although it took me some time to get used to it. I don’t really like the back of the dress; it looks as if Jankovic herself was sewing the pieces of material together. Also, I believe some other design would showcase Jankovic’s beautiful figure much better. All in all, I can’t say the outfit is ugly, but I’m already bored with it. (photo: Getty Images)

Fifth seed Ana Ivanovic wasn’t in promising form during her first-round match at the 2009 Australian Open, but eventually she managed to get past Germany’s Julia Goerges 7-5 6-3.

The 107th-ranked Goerges was the first one to break in both sets, and overall was a good challenge for erratic Ivanovic, who had constant problems with throwing the ball to serve.

In the first set Goerges was close to a 4-1 lead, but Ivanovic managed to save herself from being two breaks down, and soon leveled at 3-3. The coming games followed serve, and Ivanovic finally broke Goerges’ serve in the twelfth game to take the first set after 56 minutes of struggling. The second set started with an exchange of breaks, and the Serb made a deciding one in the eighth game, to serve out victory in the following game.

Although the match finished with both players making the same number of winners, 17, the first set ended with Goerges scoring twelve to Ivanovic’s six.

Here’s a piece of good news for all of you worried about Ivanovic’s prospects in Australia: the last year’s runner-up started her 2008 Australian Open campaign with the same score, 7-5 6-3, against Sorana Cirstea.

In the second round Ivanovic will face Alberta Brianti of Italy, who went past Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium 6-4 6-2. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)