When it is good it is very good, but when it is bad...

The powerful Petra Martic serve fluctuates between ace and double-fault and finally turns out to be her downfall rather than her saviour.

Maria Sharapova clinches the first break point and the trademarked clenched fist and shout routine gets an airing.

Maria Sharapova keeps doing what Maria Sharapova does. The Russian relentlessly works the percentages to hold serve. If the Deep Blue computer had played tennis rather than chess it would be something like Sharapova - cold-bloodedly working out the shortest route to victory.

That was more like it from Petra Martic.

A beefed-up serve that finds the corner of the service box with more regularity is followed up by a lovely tickle of a drop-shot to close out the game.

Sharapova is not the quickest out of the blocks generally and has a long way to stoop. She can't get to that one and it won't be the last time Martic deploys that shot surely.

Image source, AFP

Maria Sharapova has had her own bouts of service gremlins in her career, but she is steady as she blows there. A solid hold.

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Early doors and Petra Martic is wobbling under the pressure of the showpiece arena.

Three double-faults take her teetering to break point, but the Croatian gets a hold of herself and the controls to pull out of the tailspin just in time.

Maria Sharapova has already set about raising standards in the line-calling by the way. She shoots daggers after one of her groundstrokes is called long and Hawk-Eye reveals it smeared the line.

Maria Sharapova is gaining on Serena Williams at the top of the rankings. If the Russian comes away with the title at the end of this fortnight, she will be back to world number one.

Martic is not a gimme of an opening-round match though.

The Croatian, 24 today, was up at 42 in the world before sliding down to her current rank of 184 after an injury-hit 2014. She beat Petra Kvitova in her only win over a top-five player.

Sharapova, grunt already echoing around the arena, shows enough aggression and get-go to take the first game.

Next up on Rod Laver is second seed Maria Sharapova against Croatian qualifier Petra Martic.

Warm-up done and it is Sharapova to serve...

Image source, Reuters

Only one bit of Brit news today. But it was the biggest fish in our small pond.

Andy Murray put in a bit of a mixed performance as he overcame India's Yuki Bhambri 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7-3) in two hours 12 minutes on Margaret Court Arena.

In case you missed it earlier today, there has been some carnage in the bottom half of the women's draw with eight seeds dropping out of the main draw in total.

Ana Ivanovic (fifth), Angelique Kerber (ninth) and Sabine Lisicki (28th) are among those to fall. All of that means that Eugenie Bouchard's route through the tournament is seed free until the quarter-finals. She was a 6-2 6-4 win over Anna-Lena Friedsam earlier today.

Lu departs the court to well-earned cheers. He fought gamely against the tide of winner.

Federer is cornered by the on-court interviewer before he can make his escape.

He thought the match was "good quality" and reveals that he has treated Stefan Edberg to a little practice hit for his 49th birthday today.

"The day's not over yet, the shops are still open in Melbourne," he adds hurriedly. Time to flex the plastic Roger.

Image source, AP

Bish, bash, bosh.

Federer to 40-0 and the Rod Laver crowd are cheering all the way up to his ball toss as he prepares for the first of three match points.

Lu crashes away a winner as Federer comes to the net to stick a slight spanner in the spokes, but the next point, and the match, are all Fed's.

You could feel it brewing.

Roger Federer takes a wrecking ball to Yen-Hsun Lu's serve, splattering winners to all corners and pulling the Taiwanese all out of shape to snatch away the game to love.

He will serve for a straight-sets win next.

Roger Federer dusts off another service game to love in a shade over a minute. Expect a big haul at the Lu tee-off next - his last chance before they head into the shoot-out of a tie-break.

First to five and Yen-Hsun Lu is still alive and kicking in the set. Theoretically Roger Fededer will serve to stay in the set next. In reality he has never looked in danger after saving those two break points early in the third.

While you struggle to start your car engine back in chilly Blighty, the Federer serve is still purring in the Melbourne warmth.

It doesn't look like Federer is going to lose this set. The only question is whether he can summon everything together to actually go and actively win it.

Is this the beginning of the end?

Roger Federer puts away the volley to get Lu in a headlock at deuce and tightens his grip with a casual overhead swat.

Perhaps not.

Break point and Federer is a whisker wide. Another into the net from the Swiss. Lu battles on to advantage and then pings a forehand crosscourt into an unguarded corner.

A chance gone for Federer to put the set and match to bed.

Image source, Getty Images

On a day of plenty of shocks in the women's draw, seventh seed Eugenie Bouchard of Canada is safely through to the second round with a 6-2 6-4 win over Anna-Lena Friedsam of Germany.

Latest results from day one in Melbourne

Roger Federer carves through another service game with the efficiency of a sushi chef.

By the time you have looked up from your pack of wine gums he is already taking another paddle out of the cellophane wrapper and preparing to receive.

Roger Federer might be getting in some net-rush chip-and-charge practice with one eye on future rounds, but he may partly being forced into it by Yen-Hsun Lu.

Because Lu can slug.

The world number 47 camps on the baseline and wallops within millimetres of the lines. The final clout is a beauty, whizzing down the line to keep the third set on serve.