TENNIS in DEPTH.

Del Potro, winner of the US Open title four months ago against Roger Federer, was on court for the first time since losing November’s season-ending final in London to Nikolay Davydenko, emerging with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Ivan Ljubicic.

The veteran Croatian was drafted into the eight-man tournament when world No 1 Federer declined the place he had been offered.

“I feel good with my tennis, I feel confident,” said 21-year-old Del Potro. “Of course, to beat Roger in the (US Open) final gave to me a lot of motivation and confidence to keep trying, keep working.

2008 Australian Open champion Djokovic, the world No 3 behind Federer and Rafael Nadal, needed less than an hour to defeat Tommy Haas 6-2, 6-3, after two losses to the 31-year-old German in 2009.

Djokovic said: “I got used to playing good tennis on Australian soil, I’m always happy to come back, I have a lot of support.

“Heat is not one of my allies, that’s for sure. But I definitely love playing here so I’m very excited about the tournament.”

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