Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca began his Grand Slam career in spectacular fashion as the qualifier took down Russian ninth seed Andrey Rublev 7-6(1), 6-3, 7-6(5) in the first round of the Australian Open.

Fonseca’s first main draw match at a slam had been eagerly anticipated, and the 18-year-old lived up to the hype on Tuesday with a stunning straight sets win in front of a captivated late night crowd on Margaret Court Arena.

He clinched the opening set with one of the many thundering forehand winners he struck and raised his level even further to cruise through the second set.

Rublev dug deep in the third set and was a break ahead, but Fonseca showed incredible poise and maturity at critical moments to set up another tiebreaker.

Showing no nerves, he ended the contest at the first opportunity by pounding a forehand beyond his Russian opponent, his 51st winner of the match.

The home crowd had plenty to cheer about as Australian number one Alex de Minaur recovered quickly after a dip in his level to move into the second round with a 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 win over dangerous Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp.

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While much of the focus leading into the Grand Slam had been on the long-awaited return of tennis showman Nick Kyrgios, it is de Minaur whom Australians will be backing to end the country’s 49-year wait for a men’s singles champion at Melbourne Park.

The eighth seed looked every bit a potential champion as he powered through to the second round.

Angry Medvedev smashes racquet and camera

Meanwhile, last year’s runner-up, Daniil Medvedev, faces a hefty fine after mangling his racquet and a net camera in an epic temper tantrum before battling through a five-set roller coaster to start his tournament.

The feisty Medvedev, a three-time losing finalist at Melbourne Park, including a year ago to Jannik Sinner, was the heavy favourite against Thailand’s 418th-ranked Kasidit Samrej.

But in his first match of the season, the Russian fifth seed nearly imploded in a fit of anger before finding some measure of calm.

“Second and third set I couldn’t touch the ball. I didn’t know what to do,” Medvedev said after finally winning 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 at Rod Laver Arena.

Medvedev was 3-5 behind and on the brink of going two sets to one down against the Thai player when he exploded, slamming his racquet into the net camera repeatedly until they both became a broken mess.

Ball kids had to sweep up the debris when he lost the game and set while the match was postponed briefly as officials made repairs on the net.

He joins a rampant Taylor Fritz and veteran Gael Monfils in the second round.

Paolini and Rybakina enjoy smooth sailing

In the women’s draw, Jasmine Paolini and Elena Rybakina were both emphatic winners on day three when Emma Navarro and Emma Raducanu were also victorious.

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Raducanu said her serve felt like it had a mind of its own at times as she racked up 15 double faults in a 7-6(4), 7-6(2) first-round victory over Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova.

The 22-year-old Briton, who has dealt with a string of injuries since capturing her only Grand Slam title at the 2021 US Open, returned to action for the first time since November with her win over the 26th seed at Melbourne Park.

Raducanu has often struggled to get going after returning from spells away from the game, but she was surprised by how her serve misbehaved. One of her double faults came as she held a 30-0 lead when serving for the match.

“Honestly, I’m not sure what I changed in my serve today. I think it had a mind of its own. I’ll be sure to reflect, look at that and come back to you,” she said after the match.