Roddick through after early scare

Andy Roddick recovered from an epic first set tie-break setback to overcome spirited Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to book his place in the second round of the Australian Open.

The sixth seed lost a record equalling tie-break 20-18 and looked to be heading for defeat in the second as Tsonga served for a 2-0 advantage at 5-2 but the American recovered to level the tie.

Roddick then took control and sealed the 6-7 (18-20) 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 6-3 victory at the Vodafone Arena.

Richard Gasquet, Mario Ancic and Juan Carlos Ferrero also booked their places in the second round with wins on the opening day in Melbourne.

Ninth seed Ancic recorded a 6-4 6-3 6-2 victory over Japan’s Go Soeda, 18th seed Gasquet beat Italy’s Filippo Volandri 6-4 6-4 6-2, while Jan Hajek’s retirement while trailing 3-0 in the first set handed Ferrero a place in the next round.

Sweden’s Joachim Johansson was also forced to retire after just two games of his clash with Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.