Acrobatic Monfils ousts Vesely in Melbourne

Frisky Frenchman and crowd favorite Gael Monfils marked his 40th Grand Slam by besting Jiri Vesely in Australian Open first-round play Tuesday.

Sixth-seeded Monfils topped the Czech youngster in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 courtesy of the rangy Paris-born player's trademark movement and proficiency at the net.

Tuesday's match lasted a hair over an hour-and-a-half, with Monfils, seven years his opponent's senior, putting on a clinic in mobility.

The pair had never faced off on the hard court. Vesely last topped Monfils in five sets at Wimbledon in 2014 before Monfils bested him on clay at Monte Carlo last year in straight sets.

Monfils will hope this year's efforts in Melbourne closely mirror those of a year ago and not his prior experiences down under.

Last year, Monfils advanced to the quarterfinals, losing to Canadian hard-hitter Milos Raonic in five sets. It was the furthest the 30-year-old Frenchman has progressed at the Aussie Open in 11 attempts, and after years of erratic play where potential and consequence were in acrimonious conflict, Monfils finally started to exhibit consistency.

He capped off a forward-looking campaign by making the semis in Queens before losing to eventual U.S. Open champion Novak Djokovic. For the first time, the king of carom finished the season ranked in the top 10.

Primed to build on a career-defining campaign, Monfils now looks ahead to a second-round date with Ukrainian ponytailed purveyor of the unorthodox, Alexandr Dolgopolov.