Justine Henin made a winning return to Melbourne Park on Monday but although the scoreline was convincing, she did not have it all her own way against Japan's Aiko Nakamura.
The world number one missed the Australian Open last year as she was going through a divorce but it was business as usual on the opening day of the 2008 event as she posted a 6-2, 6-2 win.
"Always the first round is not my favourite one, so I'm glad it's behind me now," Henin told reporters.
The score was emphatic but the Belgian's performance less so as she missed almost half of her first serves, hit 26 unforced errors and needed an hour and a half to beat her 73rd-ranked opponent.
Henin will face either Russia's Olga Poutchkova or Australian wildcard Monique Adamczak in the second round.
"It was tough at the beginning because the conditions were quite difficult," Henin said.
"It was a little bit windy and she had a game that wasn't the easiest for me to start the tournament. She was hitting the ball pretty flat, and that wasn't easy.
"A Grand Slam, it's tough and it's long, and you need to be consistent, at your best all the time, so that's not very easy.
"I just want to play as many matches as I can on this centre court again, and I hope it's going to be a good week for me."
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