Dethroned queen Karolina Pliskova has sent a warning to her Australian Open rivals with a confident first-round win at Melbourne Park.
The sixth-seeded Czech blasted seven aces and 28 winners past Paraguayan Veronica Cepede Royg to showcase her title credentials in a 6-3 6-4 victory on Tuesday.
“The conditions can be almost perfect for me,” Pliskova said.
“I made the quarter-finals for the first time last year and I hope to go further this year.”
The top seed at last year’s US Open, Pliskova is among six women vying for the world No.1 ranking with a breakthrough grand slam triumph in Melbourne.
The 25-year-old was relieved to have survived her opener.
“The first round is always the toughest and I’ll take it match by match and I think I have a good chance,” Pliskova said.
She will next play either Australian wildcard Lizette Cabrera or Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia on Thursday,