Anderson survives Melbourne battle

However, the 19th seed was given a serious workout in Melbourne today.

Anderson lost the first two sets to Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic.

Anderson eventually won 2-6 6-7 6-4 6-4 6-4.

Other men to reach the second round today included Tomas Berdych, Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer.

Serena Williams won her first round outing with ease.

The top seed drilled Ashleigh Barty 6-2 6-1.

Ana Ivanovic, Li Na and Sabine Lisicki also advanced in Australia today.

Venus Williams, Sara Errani and Petra Kvitova are no longer in contention.

Venus, who was unseeded, lost to 22nd seed Ekaterina Makarova.

Kevin Anderson will face Dominic Thiem of Austria in the Melbourne second round.

(File Photo:Gallo Images)

- Andre Bloem

Twitter - @SportswaveAndre