Nine Australians were in action on day one of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park, with five advancing to the second round and four eliminated.
29 year old James Duckworth dismantled lucky loser Damir Dzumhur 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in one hour and 40 minutes on Court 7.
"It was a tricky match, I didn't start very well, I got broken in my first two service games but then I found a rhythm as the match went on and started playing a bit better throughout that second set. I was able to get a break in the third and hold on. I'm happy to be through, probably not my best match, but I'm happy to be through," Duckworth said.
The victory is the New South Welshman's first grand slam victory since 2016 and his first at the Australian Open since 2015.
"I haven't really thought about it. I didn't realise I hadn't won one for a while. I probably haven't felt that I've hit the ball that well for the past four years or so, I've had some alright results, I got to my career high ranking at the start of 2020, but probably the last three, four months I'm happy with how I'm hitting the ball. I'm happy with where I'm at currently."
"The speed of the court compared to last year is a lot different. It's a lot nicer, you can get some free points on serve, it's a bit more helpful for players playing that aggressive style," Duckworth explained.
The Aussie will come up against 20th seed Felix Auger Aliassime in the second round on Wednesday.
"I'm really enjoying the court speed. It's going to be 30 degrees on Wednesday so I'm looking forward to that, it's going to be even quicker," Duckworth said.
Also on the winners list on day one was Queenslander Bernard Tomic.
Tomic advanced to the second round after his Japanese opponent Yuichi Sugita retired in the third set, with the Australian leading 3-6, 6-1, 4-1.
"I played very very bad in the first set. Kinda a little bit nervous, it was windy, it was cold, it was a pretty bad first set. Second and third was some of the best tennis I’ve played in a while," Tomic said.
Tomic pulled out of last weeks lead up event with a knee injury, but managed to advance to the second round unscathed.
“I didn’t practice much, especially in these conditions, because it’s quite cold at night and it’s a bit different. It’s good, it’s a great feeling. Am I overly excited? Probably not, but it’s good to be back at this level. I’m just happy to be here.”
Tomic's father John watched on from the sidelines as his son secured his first main draw win at Melbourne Park since 2017.
“He was here supporting, doing what a dad should do, I guess. It was nice.”
Tomic will take on 11th seed Denis Shapovalov in the second round.
Canberran Nick Kyrgios enjoyed a straight sets victory on his favourite court - John Cain Arena, defeating Portuguese qualifier Frederico Ferreira Silva 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Monday night.
The Aussie commented on being back out on his favourite court: "It was special. It was amazing. It felt normal."
"I haven't played a grand slam match in over a year. I was definitely nervous, I was very nervous coming out here, I knew that I wasn't going to be able to produce anywhere near my best tennis.
I haven't been nervous like that for a tennis match for a long time. Obviously not competing for a while at a grand slam level, I was obviously doubting my confidence a little bit. I'm happy with the way I kept composed, fought back, stayed tough. It wasn't an easy match, that's for sure," Kyrgios said.
Kyrgios will face 29th seed Ugo Humbert in the second round on Wednesday.
South Australian Alex Bolt was also on the winners list, registering his spot in the second round of the Australian Open for a third consecutive year, defeating Slovakian Norbert Gombos 6-2, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
"I'm super pleased getting through my first round. It's always tricky first match of a best of five set match, it's always tricky trying to stay focused for a long period of time but I'm just happy with the way I'm playing at the moment.
I love playing at home, especially when you can get a crowd out that gets right behind you. It just gives you that added boost out on court that just makes you want to try that little bit harder," Bolt said.
Fan favourite John Millman was one of two Aussie men who crashed out of the Open on day one. The Queenslander suffered a 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-3, 2-6, 3-6 defeat to 21 year old Corentin Moutet - the youngest of eleven Frenchman in the ATP top 100.
Victorian Marc Polmans also fell on day one, ousted by Hungarian Marton Fucsovics, who has reached the round of 16 twice at Melbourne Park, 6-4, 3-6, 1-6, 7-6(3), 3-6 in a marathon match that lasted four hours and 12 minutes.
27 year old Ajla Tomljanovic was the only Australian to advance to the second round on the women's side on Monday. The Aussie defeated Japan's Misaki Doi 6-2, 6-1 in just 71 minutes.
"I felt really confident coming in. I think I had a really good preparation coming in actually. We got to practice on the match courts for about three weeks prior, so I didn't really have any excuses today.
For me it was more about just staying engaged throughout the whole match and not letting up, even if I was up. I know the scoreline seems easy but it didn't feel like it," Tomljanovic said.
Tomljanovic will take on second seed Simona Halep in a blockbuster encounter in the second round.
Second seed Halep secured her spot in the second round after defeating Australian wildcard Lizette Cabrera 6-2, 6-1 on Rod Laver Arena on Monday night.
Fellow Australian wildcard Kimberly Birrell unfortunately bowed out at the opening hurdle as well, falling to Canadian qualifier Rebecca Marino 0-6, 6-7(9) in a match that was a lot closer than the scoreline suggests.
14 Australians will be in action on day two at Melbourne Park, including world no.1 Ash Barty and Australia's highest ranked player in the mens draw - 21st seed Alex de Minaur.