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Melbourne - Top seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia underscored her Australian Open credentials with an easy first round win on Monday but fifth seeded compatriot Ana Ivanovic struggled for form.
Searing conditions during the first day's play at Melbourne Park failed to force any upsets on the women's side of the draw, as Russians Dinara Safina (seeded three) and Vera Zvonareva (seven) also advanced comfortably.
Jankovic's main problem in disposing of Austria's Yvonne Meusburger 6-1 6-3 was the heat from the court's rubberised surface scalding her feet, forcing her to rest her soles on ice during changeovers.
The 23-year-old consequently wrapped up the match as quickly as possible in 70 minutes, declaring herself "fit and ready to play" as she chases a maiden Grand Slam title to go with her ranking as the world's best player.
"It's nice to get going and get off to a good start," she said, crediting a gruelling off season training schedule in Mexico with strengthening her once injury-prone body.
While Jankovic danced around like a cat on a hot tin roof, Ivanovic stumbled alarmingly searching for the form that took her to last year's final here and a breakthrough win at the French Open.
The glamorous 21-year-old eventually downed Germany's Julia Goerges 7-5 6-3 but failed to dominate a player ranked 102 places below her.
Ivanovic insisted she would shake off the rust but admitted the joy she felt competing at her peak last year was proving difficult to recapture.
"It's a new year and I'm in great physical shape, it's a fresh start for me basically," the former world number one said.
"I just want to get the experience I took from last year, enjoy my tennis again and enjoy competing ... I don't think it comes overnight to be honest."
Dinara Safina, another player whose big-match temperament was once questioned, showed no sign of nerves in snuffing out a determined challenge from fellow Russian Alla Kudryavtseva 6-3 6-4.
Safina calmly lifted a gear each time Kudryavtseva threatened.
While the 22 year-old will be keen to cut down on her unforced errors, she will be pleased with the steel Croatian coach Zeljko Krajan has brought to her game.
Russian seventh seed Vera Zvonareva overcame early jitters to beat Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia 7-6 (7/2), 6-0, taking control of the match in the second set after being pushed all the way in the first.
The 24-year-old's timing improved as the match wore on, suggesting she could push more fancied rivals for the year's first Grand Slam title.
"It was a bit of a struggle in the first set because I had no rhythm and everything was new - practice is nothing like an official match," Zvonareva said.
Another member of the Russian brigade, 10th seed Nadia Petrova, advanced after beating Kazakhstan's Yaroslava Shvedova 6-3 7-6 (7/3).
While there were no upsets, the tournament came close to producing a fairytale return when Japanese 38-year-old Kimiko Date Krumm lost narrowly to to an opponent 15 years her junior in a marathon three-setter.
Returning to Melbourne Park for the first time since 1996, former world number four Date Krumm held off Estonia's Kaia Kanepi for almost three hours before losing 6-4 6-4 8-6.
Perennial contenders Serena and Venus Williamns will launch their Australian Open campaigns on Tuesday.
