The first round of the Australian Open men’s and women’s singles tournaments is underway in Melbourne after storms delayed play on the outside courts. Aryna Sabalenka took to the opening night session on Rod Laver Arena and defeated Sloane Stephens 6-2 6-3 to begin her title defence with a strong performance.

The first round of the Australian Open begins in Melbourne on Sunday, with the world's top players competing for glory in the year's first Grand Slam.

The Australian Open begins in a hurry with the defending women's champion Aryna Sabalenka in action on Sunday.Sabalenka - shooting for her third consecutive title at Melbourne Park - will take on US Open 2017 champion Sloane Stephens.

MELBOURNE, Australia — There’s a young woman who looks a lot like Coco Gauff at Melbourne Park for the Australian Open. She has the same fiery, competitive eyes, the same tendency to break out in a giggle in the middle of a sentence and the same number of titles.

After a disappointing US Open, Coco Gauff made changes to her game and her coaching staff. The results have been undeniable.

The schedule at Melbourne Park in the Australian Open on January 14 includes two matches in the round of 64, among them Aryna Sabalenka (No. 1 ranking) against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro (No. 54). If

Novak Djokovic will have Andy Murray in his coaching box at this year's Australian Open with his first match against unseeded American player Nishesh Basavareddy