Djokovic makes a blazing start

Serbian confident

MELBOURNE — World No. 1 Novak Djokovic dropped just two games in his opening match at the Australian Open today and declared he was confident he had the measure of his main title rivals.

Djokovic burnt off Italian opponent Paolo Lorenzi 6-2, 6-0, 6-0 in only 92 minutes to impressively launch the defence of the title he won last year against Andy Murray.

The Serbian top seed faces a statistically tough task in defending his Australian crown with only nine successful title defences here in the Open era, compared with 17 at Wimbledon and 13 at Roland Garros.

But Djokovic is oozing with confidence after his sensational 2011 when he claimed three of the four grand slams and took the top ranking from Rafael Nadal last July.

“I feel much more complete as a player and as a person as well,” Djokovic said.

“Mentally I’ve gained a lot of experience playing at the top level in the last couple of years.

“I understand the game better, I understand what I need to do in order to win major events.

“I just have more confidence that I’m playing on right now. I just believe that I can win, especially against the biggest rivals in the major events.”

Last year’s Australian Open triumph was the first of seven straight tournament wins in a 41-match winning streak that was finally ended by Roger Federer in the semifinals of the French Open.

Djokovic, 24, won a careerbest 10 titles in 11 finals last year.

He defeated world No. 2 Nadal six times and overall was 21-4 against top-10 opponents.

The Australian Open is the only slam event where Djokovic has lost in the first round in 2005 and 2006, but he was never in any danger of going out against journeyman Lorenzi.

He dismantled the 109-ranked Lorenzi’s service nine times and such was the lack of pressure that Djokovic even had the audacity to play a trick shot through his legs for a winning point.

“It took me a couple games to get into the right rhythm,” Djokovic said.

“It was difficult conditions. It was really the hottest day since I’ve arrived in Melbourne, so I was trying to get used to that.

“But I played well after the first set was finished.”

Djokovic will next play Colombia’s 56th-ranked Santiago Giraldo, whom he beat in the first round at the 2007 French Open.

Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada hits a return against Zhang Shuai of China in their first round women’s singles match on day two of the Australian Open tournament in Melbourne on Tuesday. Wozniak won 6-3, 6-3 while Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino lost to Greta...