World No.1 Novak Djokovic has emerged from his first Tour match of 2012 with every confidence he can build on the form which took him to three Grand Slam titles last year.
Djokovic barely looked stretched in a 6-2 6-0 6-0 win over Italian Paolo Lorenzi on the second day of the tournament but was pleased with what he was able to show, having not played in any warm-up events in the run into Melbourne.
"Obviously I want to get a good start of the year in my first official match in this season. I have decided not to play the opening week of the year in order to get ready well for Melbourne. I'm satisfied with the overall performance today," the reigning champion said.
"It took me a couple games to get into the right rhythm. It's a bit difficult conditions. I think it was really the hottest day since I've arrived here, so trying to get used to that."
"I think I played well after the first set was finished."
Djokovic's assessment that he 'played well' is probably an understatement considering he rattled off the final 17 games of the match against the world No.109.
But it had as much to do as his ability to adapt to hot and windy conditions, which are likely to continue through the first week of the tournament.
"You just need a little bit more time to get used to them because the last 10 days or so since I arrived in Melbourne was quite cold outside and very windy," he said.
"Today was I think around 35 degrees, so it took a bit of time to get used to the heat. But I'm quite happy physically the way I'm handling the heat."
"It's obviously important to prepare well, I guess physically build up that endurance and strength in order to feel well on the court, and to bear the conditions, whatever they are."
Given a comfort zone by the one-sided nature of the match Djokovic allowed himself to move to the net more as the contest wore on, winning 21 of 26 net approaches.
He said he was trying to find out whether he could add a new dimension to the game by attacking the net more often.
"When you're three or four-love up, why not try some other things something that is not characteristic for your game?" he said.
"But I am definitely working on my net game, approach the short balls as much as I can, and take my chances."