First round result:

A MAURESMO (Fra) bt S Perry (US)

6-3 6-4

* denotes server

By Piers Newbery

Second set:

Mauresmo 6-4 Perry
I for one never doubted her. After a dodgy 10 minutes or so, Mauresmo shows her class with a confident service game to take the match. The scoreline might suggest a routine win but it was far from that and a more consistent player than Perry could have had Mauresmo in real trouble today.

Mauresmo 5-4 Perry
Well, Perry does her bit by holding serve and now Mauresmo must serve out the match at the second attempt. It's anyone's guess with Mauresmo.

Mauresmo 5-3 Perry
Blimey. Perry opens up with her best forehand of the match, hammering a return cross-court to leave Mauresmo flailing. At break point her best shot lets her down and she buries a smash into the net. Another goes begging with a now customary wild forehand but Mauresmo mishits a backhand on the third break point.

Mauresmo 5-2 Perry
Perry does well to keep the match alive with her best game of the set, although Mauresmo does manage one sublime forehand lob to keep her in check. And Tsonga finally wins the tie-break 20-18 against Roddick, who looks like someone's just kicked his dog.

Mauresmo 5-1 Perry
A classic wrong-footing volley from Mauresmo almost does for Perry but she struggles on and at least gets to deuce. These two might get off in time to see the end of the Roddick-Tsonga tie-break at this rate - it's 18-18 at the moment.

Mauresmo 4-1 Perry
Perry looks exhausted - I know how she feels. I also know how it feels not to be able to hit a barn door with a dodgy forehand, which is what the American is currently experiencing. Mauresmo gets the double break and round two is getting close now. Meanwhile, over on the Vodafone Arena, Andy Roddick and Jo-Wilfired Tsonga are locked at 15-15 in a first-set tie-break. Epic stuff for day one.

Mauresmo 3-1 Perry
Perry is looking a little jaded now - dumping one very makeable forehand volley into the net as Mauresmo moves two games clear again.

Mauresmo 2-1 Perry
Mauresmo gets to break point and a chance to virtually seal the win but she rushes a backhand return and sticks it in the net. Perry holds her nerve with a couple of decent serves and stays in touch.

Mauresmo 2-0 Perry
At 30-30, Perry has a chance to get back into the match but, not for the first time, she wildly overhits a forehand with the court at her mercy. Mauresmo is let off the hook.

Mauresmo 1-0 Perry
Mauresmo is full of confidence now, bouncing around between points and thumping everything that comes her way on the baseline. Perry is struggling to keep pace and nets a bakchand volley to give up the break.

First set:

Mauresmo 6-3 Perry
Mauresmo is not averse to the odd wobble at the best of times and a double fault to go 0-30 down suggests another may be looming. However, she continues to hit through her groundstrokes and the backhand in particular looks solid. Mauresmo takes four straight points to seal the first set.

Mauresmo 5-3 Perry
At 0-15 ahead, Mauresmo sets herself for a backhand and rips it down the line - the shot of the match so far. A cross-court pass gives her two break points and Perry pulls a wild forehand into the tram lines. She gave that one away really.

Mauresmo 4-3 Perry
These two are producing some really good points, both using every inch of the court and doing their best to finish at the net. Mauresmo holds to love but she is having to work for every point at the moment.

Mauresmo 3-3 Perry
The first winner of the day is out on Court Seven, where Juan Carlos Ferrero has benefited from a withdrawal by Jan Hajek after just three games. Meanwhile, Perry gets back on level terms with some fine athletic play. The American is certainly pretty handy around the net and at one stage gives us a Sampras-style leap to put away an overhead.

Mauresmo 3-2 Perry
A love-service game is more like it from Mauresmo, who is clearly feeling happier as she adopts her customary jog to the chair at the changeover.

Mauresmo 2-2 Perry
Mauresmo breaks back straight away - with the help of a bad misjudgement from Perry, who leaves a ball at 15-30 that drops well inside the baseline.

Mauresmo 1-2 Perry
Mauresmo is definitely a bit rusty, thumping a smash well over the baseline and following up with a double fault. Perry then wallops a forehand return past Mauresmo and the Frenchwoman dumps another backhand in the net on break point. We're some way off a shock but Mauresmo is going to have to step it up considerably.

Mauresmo 1-1 Perry
Perry, ranked 44 in the world, has a nice game and is happy to come to the net, putting away a difficult smash and a forehand volley before Mauresmo nets a bakchand to give the American the game.

Mauresmo 1-0 Perry
A good start from both players - unusually both women use single-handed backhands so the match-up should favour the Frenchwoman, who opens with a comfortable hold of serve. Despite my earlier suggestion it is apparently quite cool in Melbourne today. It's all relative though.