Olympic champion Mónica Puig wastes no time to take victory in the Australian Open
Puig became the first player to achieve a win at Melbourne Park this year, defeating Romanian Patricia Maria Tig 6-0, 6-1 in just 53 minutes.
The Puerto Rican (29th seed) was close to a bagel, but made several unforced errors which allowed Tig to win her first game, 6-0, 5-1. Nevertheless, the match ended just a few minutes later.
Puig secured her first win of the year after being knocked out in the first round at the Brisbane and Sydney tournaments. Her second round opponent in Melbourne will be German player Mona Barthel, who eliminated 16-year-old local player Destanee Aiava, the first player born in the 21st century to participate in a Grand Slam event.
In last year's Olympic Games, Puig amazed everyone in Rio de Janeiro. She defeated German Angelique Kerber in the final and won Puerto Rico's first ever Olympic gold medal in any sport.
The start of the first major tournament of the year also brought a victory for Garbiñe Muguruza (7th seed), who defeated Marina Erakovic from New Zealand 7-6, 6-4. The Spanish-Venezuelan player saved a set point in the first set and needed a break to receive medical attention before finishing her match.
On the other hand, there was a big surprise when Romanian Simona Halep (4th seed) lost 6-3, 6-1 to American Shelby Rogers.
"There are no easy matches at this level... I'm happy to progress. What I did today definitely gives me confidence," said Rogers at the sidelines.
In the men's matches, Frenchman Jeremy Chardy defeated Spanish player Nicolás Almagro, who was trailing 4-0 in the first set and retired from the match due to a right leg injury.