Alexander Zverev believes the Australian Open is already a success for him after his five-set victory against Juan Pablo Varillas on Tuesday.

It was the German's first win since his foot injury at the French Open in June during his semi-final against Rafael Nadal.

Zverev only returned to tour-level tennis in December at the United Cup, where he lost to Jiri Lehecka and Taylor Fritz.

He fell a set behind twice against the Peruvian lucky loser Varillas, before fighting back to win 4-6 6-1 5-7 7-6 (7-3) 6-4.

The world number 12 hit 69 winners and won 83 per cent of his first serve points in the contest, which lasted four hours and nine minutes.

"I am extremely happy because I missed this over the past seven months," Zverev said after his victory.

"This match alone pays off for all the hard work and suffering that I have had. To win in front of this kind of crowd again.

"I can't wait for the rest of the tournament. No matter what happens from now, the tournament is already a success for me."

Zverev will face the winner of Michael Mmoh or Laurent Lokoli in the second round, with their match suspended at two sets all on Tuesday due to rain.

Ons Jabeur said a knee problem presents her with "a great challenge" at the Australian Open as she looks to reach a third successive grand slam final.

Tamara Zidansek, the world number 98, gave Jabeur plenty to think about in round one on Tuesday, but the Slovenian eventually faded as the second seed came through a 7-6 (10-8) 4-6 6-1 winner.

Two hours and 17 minutes will have been longer than Jabeur wanted to stay out on Rod Laver Arena, but she was pleased to at least finish strongly.

The Tunisian is making a habit of getting through to major finals, losing to Elena Rybakina at Wimbledon and Iga Swiatek at the US Open, but she dearly wants to be a winner on such an occasion.

That may still happen in Australia, but Jabeur had taping on her right knee and may find it is beyond her to go deep into the tournament this fortnight. She said the performance was "not the way I wanted to play", and there seems little doubt the knee was a factor.

"It's not a big injury, but sometimes it might bother me," Jabeur said.

"I try to take it one day at a time. It's a great challenge. I'm going to challenge myself and see if I cannot play 100 per cent, but we'll try to push and be able to do something with it for sure."

Her back has also been an issue in recent weeks, and Jabeur had the crowd in creases by saying she would demand a late-night massage from her husband. She quickly clarified that was all she was asking from him, pointing out he is her fitness coach.

Jabeur expects to have a "light practice" on Wednesday ahead of facing Marketa Vondrousova or Alison Riske-Amritraj in round two the following day.

In the second set, she trailed 5-3 but snatched a break back and would have hoped to then get the job done in straight sets, only to be broken herself.

Iga Swiatek, the top seed, was in a similar situation in her opener against Jule Niemeier on Monday, managing to get the job done in two rather than go to a decider.

"It's nice to see Iga from 5-3 [winning] 7-5. I wanted to do that today, but I'm not Iga," Jabeur said. "Better 6-1 in the third set."

Andy Murray savoured a landmark win at the Australian Open as Tuesday's five-set triumph against Matteo Berrettini gave him a 50th career victory at Melbourne Park.

The world number 66, formerly an ATP rankings leader, slugged out a 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (10-6) success against 13th seed Berrettini, who reached the semi-finals last year.

It handed Berrettini a first opening-round exit at a grand slam since the 2019 Australian Open.

Murray said he "wouldn't expect to feel perfect" for his next match on Thursday, given the effort that went in over the four hours and 49 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.

However, the 35-year-old, who will face Fabio Fognini or Thanasi Kokkinakis next, will want to be back to somewhere near full health for that tussle.

Last year in Australia, Murray beat 21st seed Nikoloz Basilashvili in another gruelling first-round five-set marathon, before losing tamely to Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel in his second match.

In all, Tuesday's scalp of Berrettini gave Murray his fourth five-set win at the Australian Open. The other two came in semi-finals, beating Roger Federer in 2013 and Milos Raonic three years later. He lost in the subsequent final both times to Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic has beaten Murray in four Australian Open finals, with the Briton also sunk by Roger Federer in the 2010 title match, meaning he has been runner-up five times and never come away with the trophy.

Federer has won the most men's singles matches in Australia, with 102 victories, landing six titles along the way. Djokovic, with nine, has the most titles.

A weary Murray said after finishing off Berrettini: "In the last few years, I've certainly questioned myself at times. There's certainly a lot of people who have questioned me and my ability, whether I could still perform at the biggest events and the biggest matches.

"I felt very proud of myself after the match. That's not something that I generally felt over the years at the end of the tennis matches.

"I was impressed with myself, which again is not something... I'm hard on myself usually."

Andy Murray pulled off a stunning victory over Matteo Berrettini at the Australian Open as the five-time runner-up enjoyed another big moment in Melbourne.

Unseeded this year, former world number one Murray survived a match point against him to take a first-round thriller against the Italian 13th seed.

Murray had not lost a grand slam match after winning the first two sets since a third-round clash against David Nalbandian at Wimbledon in 2005, his first grand slam main-draw appearance.

Yet he almost let such a lead slip away this time, before digging deep for a 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (10-6) victory, achieved in four hours and 49 minutes.

Five-time Australian Open runner-up Murray faced a daunting opener, but both men would have hoped for a kinder draw.

It seemed to be going firmly the 35-year-old Scot's way when he swept through the opening two sets, but back came Berrettini to level up, edging a tight fourth that could have gone either way.

Berrettini had the contest at his mercy at match point against Murray's serve at 5-4 in the decider, only to clatter a close-range backhand into the net when it seemed sure he would put away a winner.

The stakes were high as the match entered a final-set tie-break, and when Murray sped into a 5-0 lead he looked firmly in control. There were slight wobbles from that point, but Murray made sure, helped by a lucky net cord on match point as a service return trickled over.

"I didn't know that," Murray said afterwards, when told about his record when leading matches by two sets.

Berrettini lost his first meeting with Murray, which came in Beijing in 2019, but the Italian won all three of their next matches, on grass at London's Queen's Club and Stuttgart before a US Open victory last September.

Former Wimbledon and US Open winner Murray, still playing thanks to his metal hip, expects Tuesday's match on a scorching day in Melbourne to take a toll. 

"I'll be feeling this, this evening and tomorrow, but right now I'm unbelievably happy, very proud of myself," Murray said in an on-court interview.

"I've put a lot of work into the last few months with my team who are here to give me an opportunity to perform on stadiums like this and matches like this, against players like Matteo, and it paid off tonight."

Extreme heat stopped play on day two at the Australian Open as tournament chiefs stopped play on all courts without a roof due to soaring temperatures.

By the middle of the afternoon on Tuesday, the tournament's heat stress scale had reached 5, the point at which play has to be suspended.

Matches were allowed to continue through to the end of an even number of games in a set, or the end of a tie-break, before players left the court.

It led to an interruption of around two hours on all courts without a roof.

The tournament's heat policy takes account of radiant heat – the strength of the sun – plus air temperature in the shade, relative humidity and wind speed.

An initial warning of what might be set to happen came when the tournament delivered a first weather report, stating: "At 1:12pm the AO heat stress scale reached 4 and the heat policy came into play.

"This means singles players can take a 10-minute break – women between the second and third set and men between the third and fourth set of their matches. Players have the option of staying on court or using showers or cooling rooms."

Less than two hours later came confirmation play would have to stop, except for those courts where the players had shade thanks to a roof.

The tournament announced: "The AO heat stress scale has reached 5 and play will be suspended on the outside courts. There will be no play on outside courts before 5pm."

Andy Murray's gripping first-round match against Matteo Berrettini on Rod Laver Arena, the main show court, was able to continue due to that show court's roof, while play also continued on Margaret Court Arena and John Cain Arena.

American Taylor Fritz, used to playing in high heat in his native California, said he did not find conditions too oppressive.

His match on John Cain Arena began without a roof, before it was closed to allow play to go on.

"It's hot, but it's dry heat, so I don't really mind it too much," said Fritz, a dark horse for the title this year.

"Playing in D.C. last year, US Open some years, is much worse because it's so hot, plus the humidity. When it's like today, it's not that humid. I don't think it's as bad.

"As long as it's this dry type of heat, then it's not that big of a deal. If it was this hot plus humidity, then it might be an issue. It would be pretty annoying to deal with."

Iga Swiatek believes people sometimes treat her like a "robot who has to win all the time" and are focused too much on "numbers and statistics."

Swiatek came through her first-round match at the Australian Open on Monday as she beat Jule Niemeier 6-4 7-5, though she trailed 5-3 in the second set before winning four-straight games.

The world number one will face Camila Osorio in the second round on Wednesday, and admitted she had needed to find another gear to overcome her German opponent.

"I knew that I could get my focus up a little bit, [increase] the intensity a little bit more. So I did that," she said.

"But my goal for my next matches is not being in those situations and not starting the set with losing a break, but it happens. I'm happy that I was able to come back. It wasn't like I needed to really change a lot. I just needed to have more intensity."

After an impressive 2022 season, that saw her win the French Open and US Open, expectations have risen around Swiatek, which the 21-year-old has noticed.

"For sure, I feel like people are really focused on the numbers and on the statistics," she said. "I feel like they're looking at those matches not seeing that we are still people, and we have to really fight for it. 

"I know that I also put a lot of expectations on myself, but I'm working on that. It just feels like sometimes they're not treating you still as a human, but more like a robot who has to win."

Swiatek has now won the first round in a grand slam tournament in 15 of her previous 16 appearances, but admitted she only developed confidence in playing on hard courts last year.

"At the beginning of last year I didn't have that much confidence that I can also win big titles on hard court because all of them basically happened last season," she said.

"Also before I think the media kind of described me as a clay court player. Maybe that got into me a little bit. But, yeah, for sure working with [coach] Tomasz [Wiktorowski], I just felt like I can be more aggressive on hard court. I don't have to be the baseline player. I really used that in my matches, then the results kind of showed me that I'm going right direction."

Shang Juncheng is aiming to "do something big in the future" after becoming the first male Chinese player to win a main draw match at the Australian Open.

The 17-year-old – who is also the youngest participant in the men's draw – beat Oscar Otte 6-2 6-4 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 to advance to the second round on Monday.

Shang will play number 16 seed Frances Tiafoe next, and after his win acknowledged what a big moment it is for men's tennis in China.

"I think it's huge for Chinese men's tennis," he told reporters. "We have had really good players from the women's side but not really big names in the men's, so I think we are very lucky that I'm part of it, and I'm very lucky that I'm part of this team. Hopefully we can do something big in the future."

On why it has taken so long for a man from his country to find success at the tournament, Shang – who also likes to go by the name Jerry – said: "It's a complicated thing. I'm not quite sure how to answer that, but I think physically it's a big step for us in the men's tennis.

"But I think we're on the right track now. Hopefully we can do a better job in the slams, in the three-out-of-five sets, hopefully that can happen in the future."

Shang named Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic as his three main inspirations, citing their passion for tennis and "amazing personalities".

The world number 194 impressed against Otte, hitting 53 winners and not dropping his serve at any point, saving the only two break points he faced while taking nine of 13 break points he forced against his German opponent.

Rafael Nadal says winning matches is the perfect cure to his injury problems after kicking off his Australian Open title defence with victory in four sets against Jack Draper.

Top seed Nadal's class told on Rod Laver Arena in a match lasting three hours and 43 minutes as he prevailed 7-5 2-6 6-4 6-1 to reach the second round for the 17th time.

The 36-year-old was competing for just the eighth time since September's US Open, with Monday's victory over Draper his first of 2022.

Not only has Nadal spent time recuperating from injuries, he is also adapting after becoming a father for the first time in October.

However, in his first grand slam since the birth of his child, Nadal says simply winning trophies is providing him with all the motivation he needs.

"I am enjoying life having a new member in the family," he told reporters. "I've always loved kids. To be able to enjoy this new moment in my life is something beautiful.

"But in terms of competitive feelings or motivation, it doesn't create any impact. It'd only create a negative impact if I was here a month, and they were not able to be with me. 

"You don't know how you're going to react, you know? I've always been very respectful with the changes in life. You don't know how you're going to adapt. 

"I don't know my feeling if the baby's not here with me for one month. I don't know if after three weeks I miss him, and I'll lose a little bit the focus.

"I have always been excited enough to play every single tournament. My approach to the competition is not changing much being a dad or not."

Nadal has now lost only one of his 18 matches at this stage of the Australian Open, with that defeat coming at the hands of Fernando Verdasco in 2016.

The record 22-time major winner did not have it all his own way against Draper, who appeared to be heavily affected by cramp later in the match.

He was not always at his confident best and made some uncharacteristic errors to allow his British opponent back into the match, but he ultimately got the job done.

"I am ready to keep fighting," Nadal said of his recent injury issues. "Victories help. When you win matches, you are more relaxed and you are more confident.

"I needed a victory, so that's the main thing. It doesn't matter the way it happens. The most important thing today is a victory against a tough opponent."

Draper levelled up the match at 1-1 and in the process became one of only 12 players to have taken a set off Nadal at this stage of a grand slam.

"As I said before the tournament started, this was one of the toughest first rounds possible being seeded," Nadal said.

"To win against Jack, I needed to do things well. I think I did things well. So I'm satisfied with the victory because that's give me the chance to play again in a couple of days.

"I accepted the mistakes I made. I was humble enough to accept that there was going to be a little bit of ups and downs during the match. 

"This is typical when you're not in a winning mood. When you lose more, when you are not competing every week, that's the case. I accept these mistakes and keep going."

Nadal will now face Mackenzie McDonald in the last 64 after the American beat compatriot Brandon Nakashima in a five-set thriller.

Iga Swiatek made it through to the second round of the Australian Open with a 6-4 7-5 win against Jule Niemeier, though was again tested by the German.

In a rematch of their US Open fourth-round match in which Swiatek had to recover from a set down before going on to ultimately win the tournament, Niemeier gave Swiatek problems again with her power and ability to utilise the fast conditions.

An even first set saw Swiatek unable to find a break point until she was 5-4 ahead, before forcing two set points, eventually taking the second as a strong forehand could only be returned into the net.

Niemeier came out in the second set determined to make amends, though, breaking Swiatek in the opening game as she looked to overwhelm the Pole.

The 23-year-old belied her status as the world number 69, causing the top seed problems as she mixed power hitting with some nice drop shots but, as she served for the set, Swiatek turned up the dial and forced the break to level at 5-5.

After holding her own serve it looked like the second set would head to a tie-break, but Swiatek's increase in intensity made the difference again as some expertly placed deep and wide shots caused another break as she sealed a straight-sets win.

"Honestly I wanted to be focused on myself because she can serve amazing," Swiatek said in her on-court interview. "She uses fast conditions so I just wanted to think what I could do to push her back.

"I'm pretty happy I got through this match because the fist round is always tricky and playing Jule is always tricky."

Data slam: Swiatek takes advantage of second serve

Niemeier's serve gave Swiatek problems throughout, but the Pole was ruthless when she was given rare opportunities.

Despite a success on her first serve of 71 per cent (32/45), Niemeier could only win 35 per cent on her second (9/26).

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Swiatek – 20/28

Niemeier – 18/29

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Swiatek – 0/3

Niemeier – 3/1

BREAK POINTS WON

Swiatek – 3/5

Niemeier – 1/3

Coco Gauff believes all the pressure will be on Emma Raducanu when the two face each other in the second round of the Australian Open.

Neither had any difficulties in their opening matches of the tournament at Melbourne Park on Monday, with Gauff easing past Katerina Siniakova 6-1 6-4 while Raducanu dispatched Tamara Korpatsch 6-3 6-2.

Gauff pointed to the pressure Raducanu has faced since her surprise US Open win in 2021 and thinks that her opponent being the main British hope could play to her advantage. 

"Obviously she's gone through a lot of pressure, bursting onto the scene. I feel like probably more than I have experienced coming to win a slam," Gauff said.

"Especially being from the UK, the first British person to do something in a long time, probably is a lot more pressure than what I'm used to being an American. Obviously I was a lot younger when I got the attention, so I definitely think handling it at an older age is a little bit easier than at 15. But also, at the same time, I didn't win a slam.

"There's always, for American fans, someone to look to. Whereas I feel like, the British, it's just her. There's other British players, but no one has done what she's done and gotten that far in a slam."

Raducanu also sealed her passage to the second round without much fuss as she put her recent injury issues behind her with a convincing win over Korpatsch.

"I'm obviously really happy to be through to the second round," Raducanu said. "It was always going to be difficult, coming in with so little prep and being out there.

"Everything I've done has been quite controlled the last week. So to test it out in a real match and with the unpredictability and stuff, I was just getting used to it in the beginning. But it felt good."

Despite being a grand slam winner, Raducanu came into the tournament 77th in the WTA rankings, 70 places below Gauff, but the 20-year-old is looking forward to facing another player she sees as part of the next generation.

"I'm really looking forward to this match," she added. "I'm very up for it. Coco has obviously done a lot of great things and she's playing well.

"I think we're both good, young players, we're both coming through, part of the next generation of tennis, really. It's going to be a great match."

Rafael Nadal secured his first win of the year as he began the defence of his Australian Open title by beating Jack Draper 7-5 2-6 6-4 6-1.

The number one seed did not have it all his own way against the Briton, but ultimately the class and fitness of the 36-year-old made the difference as Draper – 15 years Nadal's junior – appeared to be heavily affected by cramp later in the match.

Nadal had lost six of his last seven tour-level matches coming in, but gained the advantage after he managed to break at 6-5 up in an even first set against the big-serving Draper.

Draper fought back emphatically as he raced into a 4-0 lead in the second, seeing it out comfortably to level up at 1-1, but he appeared to start cramping just two games into the third set.

Nadal took advantage and went 4-1 ahead, but the Spaniard did not always seem at his confident best himself as some uncharacteristic errors allowed his opponent back in, with Draper breaking back and managing to get to 4-4.

Nadal was able to break again to take the set 6-4, and despite Draper breaking serve in the opening game of the fourth, that was his last success of the match as the 21-year-old's legs clearly started to affect his movement and serve, with Nadal finding it simple enough to close out the win.

Data slam: Nadal matches Lendl for career wins

This was the 1,068th win of Nadal's career, bringing him level with Ivan Lendl.

The 22-time grand slam winner is now tied for third most victories in the Open Era, behind only Jimmy Connors (1,274) and Roger Federer (1,251).

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Nadal – 41/46

Draper – 35/46

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Nadal – 6/3

Draper – 13/3

BREAK POINTS WON

Nadal – 6/12

Draper – 4/11

Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios has been left "devastated" by a knee injury that forced him to withdraw from his home grand slam, the Australian Open, on Monday.

The Australian 19th seed was due to face Roman Safiullin on Tuesday but opted out on Monday. He will be replaced by lucky loser Denis Kudla.

Kyrgios had undergone a routine MRI on his knee which revealed a cyst as a result of a small lateral meniscus tear, forcing him out of the opening major of the year. The 27-year-old will undergo an arthroscopic surgery to heal the knee injury.

"Bad timing. Injuries are part of the sport," Kyrgios told reporters. "I'm devastated obviously, it's my home slam.

"It's pretty brutal. One of the most important tournaments of my career, so it hasn’t been easy at all."

Kyrgios, who pulled out of the United Cup late last month citing exhaustion, had played Novak Djokovic in an exhibition match on Friday.

The Australian started to feel some discomfort in his knee during that match, before making the decision to pull out on Monday.

"I wanted to give myself hope, I thought I had a chance," he said.

The 2022 Wimbledon finalist had been placed in the same section of the draw as nine-time Australian Open champion Djokovic along with Andrey Rublev and Holger Rune.

Kyrgios was the highest-ranked local player in the men's and women's singles draws, with 22nd seed Alex de Minaur the next best Australian hope.

Reigning women's singles champion Ash Barty retired last year, while compatriot Ajla Tomljanovic, ranked 35th in the world, withdrew due to an ongoing knee issue on the weekend.

Coco Gauff wants to prove she is more than simply a "teenage phenomenon" as she bids to become a grand slam champion at the Australian Open.

The 18-year-old faces Katerina Siniakova in the first round in Melbourne on Monday, ranked as the seventh seed for the first major of the year.

Gauff has enjoyed a remarkable start to her career, winning the first of three WTA Tour singles titles at the age of just 15 at the 2019 Linz Open.

She reached the last 16 at Wimbledon in the same year after defeating Venus Williams in the opening round, but Gauff is hungry to make her reputation more than just an age thing as she seeks a first major.

"Starting another season as an established pro feels pretty weird. I'm still only 18, but I don't feel like the new kid anymore," she said in a BBC Sport column on Sunday.

"I feel I'm ready to leave behind the tag of 'teenage phenomenon'. Now it is time to be known as a grand slam champion.

"I feel like all the players still call me a baby, and usually I'm still one of the youngest in the draw, but I've been around for a while. My main ambition for 2023 is winning a grand slam title. That's the biggest goal.

"It is something I have chased for my whole life and I came so close last year by reaching the French Open final. If winning a major doesn't happen this year, I will continue to chase this dream."

Gauff was a 6-1 6-3 loser to Iga Swiatek in the Roland Garros final last year, with the Pole dominating the WTA as she claimed eight titles, including the French Open and US Open.

Teenager Gauff was tearful after that match in Paris but has started this season by winning the Auckland Open, becoming the sixth American player to secure three or more WTA-level titles in the last 40 years before turning 19.

Monica Seles, Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport, Venus and Serena Williams were the others to achieve that feat and Gauff hopes she can learn from previous failures to succeed in Australia this month.

The world number seven added: "I know I can win a grand slam title. Now it is about making the final step. One of my other goals was to win a WTA Tour title – I didn't do that last year – and I have already that checked off by winning in Auckland last week.

"The signs are good and hopefully this success continues throughout the season."

If successful, Gauff could become the first teenage female player to reach the final at the Australian Open since Maria Sharapova in 2007 and the first to win the title since Martina Hingis in 1999.

Emma Raducanu is calling on the advice of England men's football captain Harry Kane as she seeks a deep run at the Australian Open.

Raducanu shot to stardom in 2021 when she became the youngest woman to win the US Open.

However, the 20-year-old heads to Melbourne ranked 77th in the world by the WTA, having only reached one semi-final – at the Korea Open in September – since her triumph at Flushing Meadows.

Raducanu has been nursing an ankle injury prior to the season's first grand slam, but that problem has now cleared up, and she revealed Tottenham star Kane has been offering his advice.

"Harry's obviously such a great role model and very professional and I think to be able to speak to him is really cool," Raducanu told the media. 

"We haven't spoken so much but he's obviously an outstanding player, and it's just pretty cool isn't it?

"For someone of his achievements, it's pretty remarkable how he’s so humble. I respect him a lot.

"It's obviously really cool to speak to some other athletes. I think it's good because we all kind of understand what each other are thinking and going through at times.

"And at the end of the day they're just really cool people as well."

Raducanu will face Tamara Korpatsch in her first match in Melbourne on Monday.

Vasek Pospisil has backed Novak Djokovic to win the Australian Open a year after the Serbian was unable to compete.

Djokovic was denied a place in last year's tournament when his refusal to have a COVID-19 vaccine led to him being detained in a Melbourne immigration centre and later deported.

With vaccination status no longer a condition of entry to the country, the nine-time Australian Open champion is back for this year's tournament, which begins on Monday.

Djokovic played doubles with Pospisil in his first match back in Australia earlier this month at the Adelaide International 1, and speaking to Stats Perform, the Canadian tipped his close friend to go all the way in Melbourne.

"I hope he wins it. I would consider him the favourite, absolutely," Pospisil said. "If you have to pick a favourite, it's hard to pick someone else.

"Having said that, obviously there are so many great players and incredible talents put together for one week, anything can happen, right? That's sport, but I would definitely put him as the favourite and if I had a choice if someone's winning other than myself, obviously, I would put him as the hopeful for the title.

"Also, given he had a tough, tough year obviously with what happened in the past."

Pospisil denied that the frustration of missing out last year would be a factor in Djokovic's motivation to do well this time, though.

"I think he's so motivated already with his ambitions in the sport and just in life in general," he added. "He's obviously a very driven individual, which is not something you need to hear from me to know, you can see that. I don't think it will necessarily be extra motivation.

"I feel like every time he's playing a grand slam, he's maximumly motivated. I do think he's going to have a great year and I don't think that anything that happened recently will affect him in a negative way.

"I think he showed that with how he played at Wimbledon last year [beating Nick Kyrgios in the final] just speaks volumes of his character and how strong he is an as an individual. It's very, very impressive that he was able to bounce back like that."

Pospisil, ranked 94th in the world, is also confident about his own prospects at the Australian Open, saying: "I'm actually feeling good. I had a really strong finish last year.

"The last couple of months, I took a bit [of time] coming back from an injury, so it took a bit to kind of get rolling, but I'm entering with confidence, getting my ranking back up slowly and had a really good preparation. [I am] training really hard, eating well and I feel like I'm ready to go."

The 32-year-old has been drawn against countryman Felix Auger Aliassime in the first round and appreciates the task at hand against the number six seed, who won three of his four ATP titles in 2022 in October before winning the Davis Cup alongside Pospisil in November.

"I would say arguably he was the most in-form player at the end of last year," Pospisil said. "Four or five tournaments in a row and beat the top players in the world. So obviously, extremely talented young player, very physical.

"I know his game quite well. I mean, I've known him for many years. He's a fellow Canadian and Davis Cup team-mate.

"I have a lot of confidence in my abilities, so I feel like if I'm playing well, then I can beat anybody on any given day. It's going to be a tough ask just because he's playing so well these days."