Australian Open begins in Melbourne today

In Tennis, the Australian Open - the first Grand Slam of the season - kicked off in Melbourne this morning. World number four Simona Halep of Romania made a shock first round exit after losing to an unseeded American Shelby Rogers, 3-6, 1-6.

Top players, including world number one Andy Murray, Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Agnieszka Radwanska, are also taking part in the 14-day tournament. Swiss Roger Federer is also



making a comeback.There are no Indian players in the Singles categories. The Doubles are, however, featuring the participation of Sania Mirza, Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna.

Sania and her Czech team-mate Barbora Strycova are seeded fourth, while Paes and his Brazilian partner Andre Sa are unseeded. Rohan Bopanna is pairing with Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas. The Indian pair of Divij Sharan and Purav Raja will also be seen in action in the Doubles main draw.