The world number four wasted little energy to swat aside Jenson Brooksby, who is on the way back from a doping suspension, 6-2, 6-0, 6-3 on John Cain Arena.

In-form Gauff laid down a marker as she swept aside former champion and fellow American Sofia Kenin in straight sets on Rod Laver Arena.

Thunder and lightning saw players and fans rushing for cover, with the heavy rain a headache for organisers who face a match backlog.

The first Grand Slam of the year gets under way at Melbourne Park as a 15-day event for the second year running, aimed at cutting down on late-night finishes.

The British player, who faces a tough first round match against Russian 26th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, was speaking in the wake of high-profile doping cases involving Iga Swiatak and Jannik Sinner.

Alcaraz won the French Open and Wimbledon titles last year while Sinner claimed the Australian Open and U.S. Open trophies as the pair heralded a new era for the men's game by shutting out 24-times Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.

Former world number one Novak Djokovic's Australian Open preparations suffered a blow Friday as he was bundled out of the Brisbane International by towering American Reilly Opelka.

Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner powered to his first Rotterdam Open title on Sunday, breaking down a determined defensive effort from Australia's Alex De Minaur to win 7-5, 6-4 in a high-quality battle.

Patience is a virtue that Sinner does possess, and eventually that paid off.

"I'm the same boy I was before I won the title," he insisted on his return to Rome.

Ever since bursting on the scene as a 17-year-old in 2019, the Italian has been touted as one of tennis' future greats.

Jannik Sinner stormed back from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev in a gruelling five-set Australian Open final on Sunday and win his first Grand Slam.

Since Stan Wawrinka won his only title in Melbourne in 2014, Novak Djokovic has picked up six trophies, Roger Federer has won two and Rafael Nadal has won one.

The Belarusian world number two has yet to drop a set in Melbourne this year

Former US Open champion Medvedev will hope to get third time lucky when he meets Italian youngster Jannik Sinner on Sunday

The Italian ended the Serb's record 33-match winning run at Melbourne Park.

Formidable world number two Aryna Sabalenka blasted past Coco Gauff into the Australian Open final on Thursday to keep her title defence on track.

Third seed Daniil Medvedev was forced to dig deep into his reserves to outlast Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in the tightest of quarterfinals on Wednesday and reach the last four of the Australian Open for third time.

Novak Djokovic said he felt "trapped" in the heat during his battling quarter-final win against Taylor Fritz on Tuesday, which left him on track for a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title.

"Happy, really proud of the fight I showed today," said Gauff, who had never progressed beyond the fourth round at Melbourne Park in four previous attempts.