Ash Barty has ended her year-long Grand Slam drought with a scintillating victory in the first round of the Australian Open.
The Aussie and world number one couldn't have made a more perfect start, crushing Montenegro's Danka Kovinic 6-0 6-0.
Barty dished out the "double bagel" — victory without dropping a game — in 44 minutes.
"It felt great to be here," said Barty, who won the opening 16 points of the match.
"I tried to stick to my process and routine but I just wanted to have fun."
Meanwhile, defending champion Sofia Kenin had a much tougher start to her title defence in Melbourne.
The American was even reduced to tears at one point before wiping them away to win 7-5 6-4 over Australian wildcard Maddison Inglis.
Things didn't fare as well for former champion Victoria Azarenka, who was knocked out.
The Belarusian struggled with her breathing and at one point needed an inhaler as he succumbed to a 7-5 6-4 defeat to Jessica Pegula.
SHARE ME