Safina through but Sharapova crashes out in Melbourne

It was a disastrous start to the year for the underdone Sharapova,seeded 14,who opted to only play exhibitions in Thailand and Hong Kong as a warm-up to the opening Grand Slam of the year.

Playing with the roof closed on the Rod Laver Arena due to rain,which caused play on outside courts to be suspended,the 22-year-old struggled to find any rhythm against a player ranked 58.

The Russian pin-up was deprived of defending her Australian title last year after failing to recover from shoulder surgery.

The injury kept her out of action until last May and Monday was another example of her struggling to regain the type of form that made her the top player in the world.

In contrast Safina,the number two seed who was thrashed in the final last year by Serena Williams,downed Slovakia8217;s 47th-ranked Magdalena Rybarikova 6-4,6-4.

But she too had her work cut out as she battled double faults and unforced errors in an emotional and spasmodic performance.

The 23-year-old,who battled a back problem at the end of last year and was playing in only her seventh match since mid-September,said she was happy just to stay in the tournament.

8220;It was not an easy first round match,she8217;s a very good opponent,8221; Safina said.

8220;I had some good moments and bad moments,but overall I8217;m happy I went through.8221;

She added that her back was no longer a problem and she was fired up for this season.

8220;I feel like I8217;m back and I8217;m enjoying every moment on the court,8221; she said.

8220;That was missing a little bit last year. Last year I was pushing myself every time,8217;okay,I have to do it8217;. But now I do it with a much more desire.8221;

She next faces either Russian qualifier Regina Kulikova or Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova.

Other women progressing included 30th seed Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine,who eased past Romania8217;s Raluca Ioana Olaru 6-2,7-6 8/6 and China8217;s Zheng Jie,who beat compatriot Peng Shuai 0-6,6-1,6-2.

Serena Williams is the bookmakers8217; favourite and she gets her title defence underway on Tuesday against Poland8217;s Urszula Radwanska.

A key threat to her will be the Belgian pair of Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin,with both in action later on Monday.

On the men8217;s side,Ivan Ljubicic was the first seed through with the 24th-ranked Croat crushing 16-year-old Australian wildcard Jason Kubler,the youngest player in the draw,6-1,6-2,6-2.

Former finalist Fernando Gonzalez of Chile,seeded 11,progressed after a 6-3,6-4,3-6,6-1 win over Belgian Olivier Rochus.

World number two and defending champion Rafael Nadal plays later today,against Australia8217;s Peter Luczak in a night match.

On the Spaniard8217;s side of the draw,Andy Murray is a key threat with the Scot also in action Monday against South Africa8217;s Kevin Anderson.

World number one Roger Federer opens his tournament on Tuesday against Russia8217;s Igor Andreev with third seed Novak Djokovic and sixth seed Nicolay Davydenko posing the main threat for him in his top half of the draw.

Eleven fans thrown out of Aussie Open

Eleven people were thrown out of the Australian Open today for unruly behaviour as hooliganism once again marred the opening Grand Slam of the season.

8220;The spectators were warned once by security for unruly behaviour,and then ejected after behaving in a disruptive manner a second time,8221; Victoria state police said in a statement.

8220;Security removed the spectators from Melbourne Park with the assistance of police.8221;

Police did not specify their nationality but earlier in the day a group of around 60 chanting Croats lit flares and made offensive and threatening gestures as they marched enmasse to the tournament.

The 8216;Herald Sun8217; newspaper said one of its photographers was spat on and punched as he photographed the chanting mob.

Racial tensions and trouble have marred the Australian Open in recent years with Serbs and Croats among the worst offenders.

Some of the worst scenes were on the opening day of the 2007 tournament when Serbian and Croatian fans,wearing the national colours of the bitter Balkan rivals,attacked each other with flagpoles,bottles and boots.

Then in 2008,police used pepper spray to subdue rowdy elements of the crowd watching a match between Konstantinos Economidis of Greece and Chile8217;s Fernando Gonzales.

Victoria Police said Monday that that would act swiftly to stem any anti-social behaviour at the Open.