Australian Open 2019: Andy Murray gets emotional send off; Maria Sharapova hands out double bagel in opener

[caption id=“attachment_5894071” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  Andy Murray’s hopes of a fairytale swansong at the Australian Open were crushed in the first round on Monday as Roberto Bautista Agut held off a thrilling fightback from the ailing Briton to claim a 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(4), 6-2 epic. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_5894081” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  Angelique Kerber brandished her credentials as a title contender at the Australian Open with a straight-forward 6-2, 6-2 victory against Slovenia’s Polona Hercog. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_5894121” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  Former champion Rafa Nadal showed no signs of discomfort from his thigh strain as he sailed through to the second round of the Australian Open with a 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 win over local hope James Duckworth. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_5894091” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  Third-seeded Caroline Wozniacki broke Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck once in each set and kept down her unforced errors to win the baseline battle 6-3, 6-4 in an hour and 33 minutes. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_5894111” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  Last year’s Australian Open runner-up Marin Cilic wasted little time in reaching the second round with a 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) win over Australian Bernard Tomic. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_5894101” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  Former champion Maria Sharapova gave hapless Harriet Dart a 6-0 6-0 shellacking to fly into the second round of the Australian Open and had no words of comfort to offer the British qualifier after leaving her in tears. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_5894131” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  Defending champion Roger Federer served straight through Denis Istomin to win their first-round encounter at the Australian Open on Monday, securing a 6-3 6-4 6-4 victory. AP[/caption]