MELBOURNE — Last year's runner-up Daniil Medvedev smashed his racquet and avoided a huge shock at the Australian Open on Tuesday before joining a rampant Taylor Fritz and veteran Gael Monfils in the second round.

Three Chinese women courted success as Wang Yafan, Wang Xiyu and Zhang Shuai, won at Melbourne Park on Tuesday.

Wang Yafan came back from a set down to win her first-round match.

Wang, the world No 64, beat Hungary's Anna Bondar 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and 13 minutes on Tuesday afternoon to advance to the second round for the second straight year.

Wang, who plays ninth seed Daria Kasatkina in the second round, reached the third round at the Australian Open in 2024 where she was beaten by compatriot Zheng Qinwen in a three-set thriller.

Zheng, last year's runner-up, won her first-round match on Monday.

Left-handed Wang Xiyu stormed into the second round after blasting past 415th-ranked Julia Grabher in straight sets, 6-1, 7-5.

The 23-year-old has shown plenty of promise after a stellar junior career, reaching a career high of No 49 in the WTA rankings in January 2023. Her best Grand Slam performance was a third-round appearance at the 2022 US Open.

The 108th-ranked Wang next plays eighth seed Emma Navarro of the US who beat countrywomen Peyton Stearns 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 7-5.

Zhang Shuai, playing with a wild card, reached the second round with a straight-sets win against McCartney Kessler of the US, 6-3, 6-4.

Zhang, currently ranked 204th in the world, defeated Kessler at the China Open last September to end her 24-match, 18-month singles losing streak before going on to reach the quarterfinals in Beijing.

Kessler headed into the Australian Open with a second WTA title under her belt after winning the Hobart International.

Zhang and Kessler will meet again in the first round of the women's doubles, where Zhang and France's Kristina Mladenovic are seeded ninth.

Zhang next plays 24th seed Yulia Putintseva from Kazakhstan in the singles second round.

In other women's play, Elena Rybakina, Navarro and Emma Raducanu were early winners on day three in Melbourne.

The feisty Medvedev, a three-time losing finalist at Melbourne Park including a year ago to Jannik Sinner, was heavy favorite against Thailand's 418th-ranked Kasidit Samrej.

But in his first match of the season, the Russian fifth seed nearly imploded in a fit of anger before finding some measure of calm.

"Second and third set I couldn't touch the ball. I didn't know what to do," Medvedev said after finally winning 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena.

"I know I play better when I play more tennis," Medvedev joked afterward. "So I was like, 'Why play 1 hour, 30 (minutes)?' Need a minimum of three hours, at least, to feel my shots better."

The 28-year-old mangled his racquet as he spectacularly lost his temper in the third set, slamming it into the net camera repeatedly until they both became a broken mess.

"In the end of last year, this match, I probably would have lost it," said Medvedev, who went 3-1 in five-setters at the 2024 Australian Open. "New year, new energy."

There was no such trouble for fourth seed Fritz as he blitzed fellow American Jenson Brooksby 6-2, 6-0,6-3 to launch his bid for a maiden Grand Slam crown.

"It's never easy playing that first match in a Slam, there are some nerves, so I did a really good job shaking them off early and playing really solid," said Fritz, who took just 1 hr 46 min to dismantle his compatriot.

France's Monfils battled through a five-set thriller to topple young countryman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard to continue the 38-year-old's late-career resurgence.

The flamboyant Monfils became the oldest singles champion in ATP Tour history when he swept to victory at the Auckland Classic last Saturday.

He kept the momentum going against Mpetshi Perricard, 21, fighting over three hours and 46 minutes to pull off a 7-6 (7), 6-3,6-7 (6), 6-7 (5), 6-4 victory.

"I have a lot of experience in those matches, also my condition, I feel I was good physically," said the veteran.

"I won this match. I'm crazy happy. I have another chance to come out and play in a packed stadium.

"Everything is a win now, so, you know, no pressure on me."

The 13th seed Holger Rune from Denmark survived a scare when he was forced to five sets by China's Zhang Zhizhen before coming through 4-6, 6-3, 5-4, 3-6, 6-4.

In the women's draw, former Wimbledon champion Rybakina dished out a harsh tennis lesson to 16-year-old Emerson Jones, winning 6-1, 6-1.

The sixth seed from Kazakhstan demonstrated her pedigree as she maneuvered the world junior No 1 from Australia to all parts of Margaret Court Arena.

"She has a great future and many more years on tour, but I am pretty happy with my performance," the 25-year-old Rybakina said on court.

The 2021 US Open champion Raducanu got off to a solid start with a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2) win against 26th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova from Russia.

The 22-year-old Briton next faces American Amanda Anisimova.

Raducanu clocked up 15 double faults and said that her serve had "a mind of its own".

CHINADAILY - AGENCIES