MELBOURNE: Sania Mirza is working assiduously towards a Masters degree in professional tennis, but evidently already has a Ph.D in drama.

Her matches are rarely humdrum productions, mostly they consist of high theatre as she lurches wildly from a stunning winner to a hideous error, tennis played Las Vegas style, where every point is gamble and life is lived on the edge. Even if she tries, she can't be boring.

Tuesday was no exception as Mirza bravely battled past 16-year-old Victoria Azarenka 7-6(8), 6-2 in the first round of the Australian Open, the first set no doubt adding more white hair to her father Imran's head.

She broke Azarenka to 5-3, perhaps surprising even herself with a deft cross-court volley winner, was broken as she served for the set, was broken again, and then broke back as the Belarussian served for the set at 6-5.

Barely had an audience sprinkled liberally with vocal Indians exhaled, then she was at it again. She lost the first point of the tie-breaker, rebounded to a 4-1 lead, allowed her opponent to level it at 5-5, and then finally grabbed the set at her second attempt to win the breaker 8-6.

Thereupon she pumped her fists, a signal that it was safe to breathe again. Apparently she decided enough entertainment for the day had been produced for she cruised through the second set in some style.

Rapid rise

Mirza's journey through the past 12 months has been as fast as her forehand, which explodes from her hip in a fair impersonation of Wild Bill Hickok. Last year at the Open she was a wildcard and her first round win a surprise; this year she is the No. 32 seed and a first round win expected.

Unsurprisingly this intrepid traveller later owned up to an initial nervousness, for as she said "it's a new year and the first Grand Slam of the year. It was important to get through (this first match)".

Furthermore her opponent, a slight Belarussian with a forthright game and three qualifying matches under her slim belt was scarcely a pushover.

Azarenka, winner of Australian and U.S. Open juniors last year, is all bright, violent strokes and an aversion to subtlety. She was at times a mirror to Mirza but in the end a poorer reflection.

Mirza hit 19 winners, her opponent 12, the Indian collected 30 unforced errors, the Belarussian 46.

As Mirza pointed out "I am making changes in my game", especially her serve that presently has the muscle of a mouse, and mastering new mechanics during competition is an arduous business.

It was also only her second competitive match of the year, and with every stroke her racquet was shaking off its accumulated rust, and while she searched for her rhythm she never lost her nerve.

Elegant start

Earlier in the day, the man on whose delicate racquet strings rests the legitimacy of this tournament made an elegant first appearance. In the absence of Agassi, Nadal, Safin, who have won 11 Grand Slam titles between them and written an encyclopaedia of shot-making, tournament organisers are no doubt lighting candles and praying for Roger Federer's continued survival through the tournament. He did not disappoint on Tuesday.

Denis Istomin, an Uzbekistan wildcard, had for days been a tennis mystery, with Federer, who loves watching tennis, admitting that he had never seen him, or heard of him. Of course, it hardly mattered, for on court few men are a puzzle the Swiss cannot solve.

The hefty Uzbek was playing his first-ever tour match and his initiation was worth seven games to him as Professor Federer completed his tutorial 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.

Playing Federer is hard enough, listening to the on-court announcer take minutes to rattle off the Swiss' feats in introduction is positively unnerving. But Istomin kept his head, unveiled a neat game, and once even dared to engage the Swiss geometrician in a battle of sharp angles ending in an exchange of finely finessed cross-court drop shots.

The Uzbek lost that small encounter, too, and as Federer later explained: "He played pretty good, you know, under the circumstances against me. Obviously, you know, I have a big repertoire of shots, I always find my way into somebody's game". Yes Roger, we know.

Prefix denotes seedings

Men's singles (first round): 1-Roger Federer (Sui) bt Denis Istomin (Uzb) 6-2, 6-3, 6-2; 24-Olivier Rochus (Bel) bt Michael Llodra (Fra) 6-4, 6-2, 6-2; Luis Horna (Per) bt 22-Gael Monfils (Fra) 6-4, 7-5, 6-1; Nathan Healey (Aus) bt 20-Filippo Volandri (Ita) 6-2, 6-3 (retd.); Tommy Haas (Ger) bt 14-Richard Gasquet (Fra) 6-2, 7-5, 6-2; 12-Dominik Hrbaty (Svk) bt Oliver Marach (Aut) 3-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3; 6-Guillermo Coria (Arg) bt Victor Hanescu (Rom) 6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1; 23-Igor Andreev (Rus) bt Nicolas Almagro (Esp) 7-5, 6-4, 6-3; Juan Ignacio Chela (Arg) bt Andy Murray (GBR) 6-1, 6-3, 6-3; 5-Nikolay Davydenko (Rus) bt Ivo Karlovic (Cro) 7-5, 4-6, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3; Boris Pashanski (SCR) bt Wayne Arthurs (Aus) 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(2); 3-Lleyton Hewitt (Aus) bt Robin Vik (Cze) 6-4, 2-6, 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-3; 21-Nicolas Kiefer (Ger) bt Paradorn Srichaphan (Tha) 6-7(5), 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-1, 6-2; 30-Max Mirnyi (Blr) bt Thierry Ascione (Fra) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7(4), 6-0; Paul-Henri Mathieu (Fra) bt Arnaud Clement (Fra) 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3; 28-Fernando Verdasco (Esp) bt Kenneth Carlsen (Den) 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-4; 9-Fernando Gonzalez (Chi) bt Alex Bogomolov Jr. (U.S.) 6-4, 6-7 (5), 3-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5; 15-Juan Carlos Ferrero (Esp) bt Tomas Zib (Esp) 7-5, 6-0, 6-2; 25-Sebastien Grosjean (Fra) bt Mark Philippoussis (Aus) 6-4, 6-2, 6-3.

Women's singles (first round): 32-Sania Mirza (Ind) bt Victoria Azarenka (Blr) 7-6(8), 6-2; 12-Anastasia Myskina (Rus) bt Yuliana Fedak (Ukr) 7-6(6), 6-1; 31-Gisela Dulko (Arg) bt Maret Ani (Est) 6-0, 7-6(7); 7-Patty Schnyder (Sui) bt Eleni Daniilidou (Gre) 6-4, 6-3; 5-Mary Pierce (Fra) bt Nicole Pratt (Aus) 6-1, 6-1; 21-Ana Ivanovic (SCG) bt Shenay Perry (U.S.) 6-4, 6-4; 3-Amelie Mauresmo (Fra) bt Sun Tian Tian (Chn) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2; 22-Anna-Lena Groenefeld (Ger) bt Laura Pous Tio (Esp) 2-6, 6-4, 7-5; 20-Flavia Pennetta (Ita) bt Cara Black (Zim) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3; 15-Francesca Schiavone (Ita) bt Antonella Serra Zanetti (Ita) 6-2, 7-5; Michaella Krajicek (Ned) bt Kristina Brandi (Pur) 6-4, 7-6(1); 27-Marion Bartoli (Fra) bt Amy Frazier (U.S.) 6-3, 6-2; Martina Sucha (Svk) bt Anna Smashnova (Isr) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4; 2-Kim Clijsters (Bel) bt Cho Yoon-jeong (Kor) 6-3, 6-0; Roberta Vinci (Ita) bt Meghann Shaughnessy (U.S.) 7-5, 6-4; 19-Dinara Safina (Rus) bt Tathiana Garbin (Ita) 6-0, 6-1; Martina Hingis (Sui) bt Vera Zvonareva (Rus) 6-1, 6-2; Yan Zi (Chn) bt 11-Nathalie Dechy (Fra) 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-3.

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