Serena rolls in Aussie opener, seeking record 24th major title

In her first match at the Australian Open since winning the 2017 title while pregnant — and her first official match anywhere since a loss in the U.S. Open final last September — Serena Williams overpowered Tatjana

Maria 6-0, 6-2 in the first round in Melbourne, Australia.

Williams, 37, is pursuing an eighth title in Melbourne and 24th Grand Slam trophy overall, which would equal Margaret Court — whose career spanned the amateur and professional eras — for the most in tennis history.

Other seeded winners included No. 7

Karolina Pliskova, No. 12 Elise Mertens, No. 13 Anastasija Sevastova and No. 17 Madison Keys among the women, plus No. 4 Alexander Zverev, No. 8 Kei Nishikori, No. 11 Borna Coric and No. 12 Fabio Fognini among the men.

Women’s No. 10 seed Daria Kasatkina lost to Timea Bacsinszky 6-3, 6-0.

Early Monday PST, Andy Murray lost what could be his final match, falling to 22nd-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (4), 6-2 in his first opening-round loss at a Grand Slam tournament in 11 years.

The 31-year-old has said he hopes to finish at career this year at Wimbledon, but his ailing hip might force an early retirement.

NBA: The NBA cleared the Cleveland Cavaliers of any wrongdoing in their brief alliance with forward Patrick Mccaw.

At the urging of the Golden State Warriors, the league investigated Cleveland’s signing of Mccaw as a restricted free agent before releasing him.

MLB: Mel Stottlemyre, the ace who later oversaw stellar pitching staffs for the New York Yankees and Mets, died Sunday. He was 77.

A five-time All-star and three-time 20-game winner, Stottlemyre went 164-139 with a

2.97 ERA in 11 seasons, all with the Yankees. He later earned five World Series rings as a pitching coach, one with the Mets and four with the Yankees.

NHL: Defenseman Josh Gorges announced his retirement after 13 years. He has been out of hockey since his contract expired with Buffalo last season.