Djokovic progresses comfortably

Novak Djokovic began his Australian Open defence with a straight-sets victory over Slovakia's Lukas Lacko on Monday. The Serbian world number two was a 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 winner against the 26-year-old in Melbourne as he seeks to win the event for a fourth year in a row. Djokovic, playing his first grand slam match under the stewardship of coach Boris Becker, began well, saving two break points in the first game before Lacko dropped serve in the fourth. From 4-1 ahead, Djokovic slipped up only once, dropping serve in the seventh, before wrapping up the set to move ahead. Lacko offered stubborn resistance in the second, taking Djokovic to a tie-break before the second seed clinched the final five points. Djokovic found top gear in the final set, hitting four aces and 16 winners as he moved 3-0 ahead before losing just one more game to safely secure progression. He will face Argentina's Leonardo Mayer in the second round and despite the relatively easy victory, the Serbian still sees plenty of room for improvement in his game, hoping the presence of Boris Becker as his new coach can help. "We both hope to get the right benefits and the right results right away here in Australia," Djokovic said after his win against Lacko. "We worked very hard during the last four weeks. We believe that hard work will pay off, as it was the case in the past. "He definitely has great observations on my game, on tennis in general. "I still see the room for improvement with my serve, with the return, with net play and so forth. "But also from the mental point of view. "Boris has won so many grand slam tournaments, was number one of the world. "He knows exactly the way I feel, what I need to face, what sort of challenges I need to overcome during the tough moments, the tough matches."