MELBOURNE, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- With a record crowd of 73,000 on hand at Melbourne Park for the second day of action at the Australian Open, the big names of tennis looked to make a statement in their first round match-ups.
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic blitzed Mitchell Krueger 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, heavy hitter Jo-Wilfried Tsonga fired past Martin Klizan 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (5) and Germany's Alexander Zverev took care of business against Aljaz Bedene, winning in straight sets 6-4, 6-1, 6-4.
Three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka also progressed after his opponent Ernests Gulbis retired injured, while local favorite Nick Kyrgios was ousted by Canadian Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-4.
But while it was disappointment for Kyrgios, two other Aussies claimed major upsets.
Alexei Popyrin overcame Germany's Mischa Zverev 7-5, 7-6 (7), 6-4 and Alex Bolt defeated former top ten star Jack Sock 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in a gripping battle.
In what many considered to be the match of the day, crowd favorite Chung Hyeon got the better of Bradley Klahn in a five-set thriller 6-7 (5), 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
In the women's bracket, Serena Williams put on a ruthless display against Tatjana Maria, blasting her way to victory 6-0, 6-2, while sister Venus won in three sets against Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-7 (3), 7-6 (3), 6-2.
There was also a solid win for women's world No. 1 Simona Halep who beat Kaia Kanepi 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-2, and a strong result for 2018 US Open Champion Naomi Osaka, who trounced Magda Linette 6-4, 6-2.
In other high profile women's matches, Elise Mertens bested Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-2, 7-5, while Karolina Pliskova outstruck Karolina Muchova in straight sets 6-3, 6-2.
For Chinese fans who made the trip down to Melbourne, there were two good reasons to celebrate.
A sharp-looking Wang Qiang booked her ticket into the next stage with a superb performance against French hitter Fiona Ferro, taking the match in straight sets 6-4. 6-3, while 2016 quarterfinalist Zhang Shuai battled her way to victory against Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova.
After dropping the second set, Zhang recovered in the third to claim the win 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.
