A typical workman-like showing from Frenchman Gilles Simon was enough to overcome an inconsistent Ryan Sweeting 6-3 6-4 on Court 2.
In what loomed as an intriguing contest between two contrasting styles, Simon handled the superior pace and weight of the Sweeting shot in trademark counter-punching fashion.
“For the first match of the season I think I played some good tennis,” the softly spoken Simon said.
“The conditions [on the outside court] were very hard, with the sun very low and a little bit of noise also, so it was hard to focus.”
If he were playing in trying circumstances you wouldn’t have known it – the world No.12’s ability to sustain long rallies regularly frustrated his younger American opponent into making mistakes.
Sweeting’s troubles were further compounded by a number of ill-timed foot fault calls during the course of the match.
“I felt better and better throughout the match and had no problems until I was down a break point at the very end,” Simon said.
“I was very consistent from the baseline.”
Opening the proceedings, Sweeting sent an ominous warning when he broke in the very first game. However, Simon struck back immediately in the subsequent game to lock it up at 1-1.
The crucial moment came when Simon broke an erratic Sweeting in the sixth game to snatch a 4-2 lead before eventually taking the set 6-3.
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At the start of the second, Sweeting attempted to hit his way out of trouble but he couldn’t breach the Simon defence, as the Frenchman surged to a 2-0 advantage.
He was never seriously troubled from that point onwards as the remaining games went the way of the server, with a well-long forehand on match point from Sweeting telling the tale of the tape.
The match on an outside court may prove beneficial, as the wily Frenchman can expect to hear even more noise from the surrounds when he meets Australian James Duckworth in the second round.
A wildcard in the main draw, Duckworth upset Nicolas Mahut in the first round but faces an even tougher challenge in Simon.
Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller is also through to the second round after fighting back from a set down against Brazil’s Ricardo Mello.
Mello, currently ranked No.85, took the opening set in a tiebreak 7-6(3) before Muller fought back to take the next two sets 7-6(4) 6-3. Muller’s opponent in the second round will be the winner of Tuesday night’s Pat Rafter Arena duel between Andy Murray and Mikhail Kukushkin.