Ons Jabeur swept into the second round of the Australian Open with a comprehensive 6-3, 6-1 victory against Ukrainian qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva on Monday.
The Tunisian sixth seed, a three-time Grand Slam runner-up, was not at her best but had too much firepower for her 23-year-old opponent, who was making her debut in the majors.
Jabeur, beaten in the second round in Melbourne last year, said she was nervous in her first match of the year, having opted not to play warm-up tournaments.
“It’s very, very special to come back here,” she said. “I decided to rest a bit before coming to the Australian Open.
“The crowd helped today and hopefully it will be a much better match for the next round.”
Jabeur hit 28 unforced errors and 15 winners during the match on Margaret Court Arena but crucially broke serve six times.
The 29-year-old lost her opening service game against 150th-ranked Starodubtseva when she double-faulted but engineered three breaks of her own to take the first set.
Her serve was rock-solid in a one-sided second set lasting 30 minutes, in which she conjured three more breaks.
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