Aryna Sabalenka with a typically dominant start as the reigning women’s single champion holds serve to 15 against Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.

Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Bouzas Maneiro are finishing their warm-up on RLA with the roof now open in a sign of confidence that the rain has passed. The world No 1 breezed into the second round with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Sloane Stephens. Tennis reporter Tumaini Carayol could hardly have been more impressed.

Over the next fortnight, Sabalenka will attempt to become the first woman in 26 years – since Martina Hingis – to win three consecutive Australian Open singles titles. She opened up her title defence in Melbourne with an imperious performance, dismantling the former US Open champion Stephens.

Teenage sensation and No 14 seed Mirra Andreeva is up against Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima on court 3. Uchijima races through the first game to love.

Players are now warming up on the outside courts with the action to get under way shortly. Qinwen Zheng and Laura Siegemund on John Cain Arena has been the only match able start closer to the scheduled 11am, with China’s No 5 seed holding a 2-1 lead in the first set as both players hold serve early.

Now for the weather. Grey skies across southern Victoria have already left some drizzle on Melbourne Park and postponed play starting on the outside courts until 11.30am.

But the worst already seems to have passed to leave us with a muggy, overcast day but hopefully no further interruptions.

We hope you don’t venture too far from the Guardian’s inimitable Australian Open blog but will understand if you want to pop out for a sneak peek at AO Animated.

Our reporter on the ground at Melbourne Park, Jack Snape, describes AO Animated as “near-live, commentated coverage of the Australian Open, free to anyone across the world via YouTube, enhanced via a stream of comments from a like-minded online community”.

It was a special night for tennis’s glamour couple as Australia’s Alex De Minaur brushed aside Botic van de Zandschulp 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 in 142 minutes all while having one eye on the score at the neighbouring Kia Arena. De Minaur’s fiancé, Katie Boulter, had to work harder to progress to the second round but eventually sealed her place in Australian Open history for Great Britain.

You want to be focusing on your own match, then all of a sudden you see the results of Katie’s match,” De Minaur said. “You try not to pay too much attention and focus on yourself, but the sheer fact that it’s always coming around, it makes it difficult.

Preamble

Martin Pegan