The Australian Open got underway today and with it some early casualties.

In the Ladies draw, Czech qualifier Lucie Hradecka came back from a set down to send the 5th seed, Ana Ivanovic packing. Ivanovic cruised through the first set, but then her game dropped. Hradecka, who has won three Grand Slam Doubles titles, took full advantage to win the match 1-6 6-3 6-2.

Angelique Kerber, Lucie Safarova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Sabine Lisicki also lost their first round matches.

Simona Halep, Maria Sharapova, Eugenie Bouchard and Sara Errani all advanced to the second round.

In the Men’s draw, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Grigor Dimitrov, Tomas Berdych, Roger Federer and Richard Gasquet also advanced to the second round.

There were mixed results for the South African players. Kevin Anderson defeated Diego Schwartzman 7-6(5) 7-5 5-7 6-4 whilst Chanelle Scheepers lost to Anna Schmiedlova 4-6 6-4 2-6.

Reigning Ladies champion, Li Na was at the opening ceremony. She announced to the delight of the crowd, that her and Dennis are expecting their first child and in true Li Na style said, “I think Dennis is doing a good job. He just made one ace.”