MELBOURNE, Australia — 11:12 a.m.
Under sunny skies and a temperature of 30 Celsius (86 Fahrenheit), two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova has begun play in her first-round match against Luksika Kumkhum of Thailand, the first match on the center court at the Australian Open.
Over on Hisense Arena, 2014 U.S. Open finalist Kei Nishikori of Japan is playing Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany.
Later matches on Rod Laver Arena involve the defending champions Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic. Williams, who just missed a calendar year Grand Slam last year by losing in the semifinals at the U.