Tennis: Murray, Williams through

After the much-hyped buildup, Andy Murray's first win at Rod Laver Arena lasted only 45 minutes. Lucky him.

With the temperature topping 40C on Tuesday, Serena Williams wanted her first-round match at the Australian Open to be over just as quickly.

The second-seeded Williams, who has an alternate year pattern of titles here since 2003, had a 6-3, 6-2 win over China's Yuan Meng in 75 minutes in the following match on centre court.

"Ooh! It's a little hot out here," Williams said.

Murray only needed to play 12 games to advance - Andrei Pavel retired with a back problem when he was down 6-2, 3-1 and 15-0.

When they walked off, the temperature was hovering at 37C (99F). It kept rising.

In addition to the heat, the early afternoon sun was nearly blinding at one end of the court.

Williams let several service tosses drop during one game before shortening her motion, costing her some speed.

When a passing cloud brought brief relief, a fan shouted, "Close the roof!" A swirling, gusty wind added unpredictability, and a flurry of moths annoyed the players and sent staffers scurrying to sweep them off the court during changeovers.

Williams, who won the first of her nine majors in Melbourne, said she was ready for whatever conditions she encountered.

"I love playing out here, as everyone knows," she said. "This one you have to prepare different ... (for) the conditions like today."

Photographers at courtside draped their heads, bodies and cameras in wet towels. Spectators fanned themselves with paper and official programs.

Oracene Price, mother and coach of Serena and Venus Williams, sat in the bleachers under an oversized straw hat. She had another first-round match to watch later Tuesday, with sixth-seeded Venus opening against Germany's Angelique Kerber on the second showcourt.

Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva's play was hot and cold - recovering from 2-5 in the first set, then losing the second - before beating Germany's Kristina Barrois 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-1. She came into the Australian Open on a 10-match winning streak.

No. 13 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus also progressed, while No. 9 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland went down to Ukraine's Kateryna Bondarenko 7-6 (7), 4-6, 6-1.

On the men's side, No. 31 Jurgen Melzer of Austria overpowered 19-year-old Japanese player Kei Nishikori 7-5, 6-2, 6-1 and Uzkbekistan's Denis Istomin beat American Vince Spadea in straight sets.

Murray is carrying the hopes of a British public looking for its first male Grand Slam champion since 1936.

The 21-year-old Scot, who lost last year's US Open final to Roger Federer, went back out to practice after the sudden finish to his first match.

"It's the first time I've ever won a match on here," he said. "You don't want to win a match like that."

Murray was installed as the favorite or joint favorite for the tournament by British bookmakers after beating Federer three times since losing the US Open final - his best run at a major to date.

"I'm aiming to go one better here and I need all the support I can get," he said, noting the number of Scottish flags unfurled around the stadium. "It's nice. Hopefully they'll keep coming throughout the tournament."

Murray defended his Qatar Open title before coming to Melbourne but said it was still difficult getting used to the Australian summer.

"Even when you sit down at the change of ends, you're expecting to sort of go and chill out a little bit in the shade and it's roasting even when you're just sitting there," he said. "That was tough. If you have a long point, you can feel your feet burning a little bit."

Federer commenced his quest for a 14th major to equal Pete Sampras' record with a 6-1, 7-6 (4), 7-5 first-round win over 35th-ranked Andreas Seppi of Italy that finished after midnight.

Rafael Nadal, who replaced him atop the rankings, had a night match Tuesday against Christophe Rochus of Belgium, about the same time No. 9 James Blake is due to play Canada's Frank Dancevic.