MELBOURNE, Australia -- A rusty Novak Djokovic began his bid for a fourth consecutive Australian Open title on Monday with a win over Lukas Lacko while Serena Williams looked as polished as ever beating Australian teenager Ashleigh Barty. John Brown Ravens Jersey . With his new coach and six-time Grand Slam singles champion Boris Becker watching him during an official match for the first time, Djokovic appeared tentative early against the Slovakian player, who often appeared content to keep the ball in play. But as the second-seeded Djokovics patience level began to drop, his skill level stepped up. He stayed on course for a fifth Australian title with a 6-5, 7-6 (2), 6-1 win, hoping to be the first man to achieve that feat since the Open Era began in 1968. Top-ranked Williams won her 23rd consecutive match -- including 18 at the end of last season and four last week in winning the Brisbane International -- after beating Barty 6-2, 6-1 in 57 minutes. "You have to be ready," Williams said. "She had nothing to lose." Williams continues to be in rarified territory. Her Brisbane title was the 58th of her career -- she won 11 last year, including the French Open and U.S. Open. A five-time winner of the Australian Open, shes trying to end Victoria Azarenkas two-year run as womens champion at Melbourne Park. Williams won 10 of 11 points at the net during the Barty match, but tried to dowse expectations that shell vacate her usual place at the baseline. "In my mind Ive been at the net (previously), but now Im physically going there a little more," Williams said. "No pressure. My next match I might stay at the baseline the whole time. Its nothing Im permanently working on. Im just trying to have fun and do what I want to do out there." Djokovic also had a strong finish to 2013, entering the tournament on a 24-match winning streak, which followed his loss to Rafael Nadal in last years U.S. Open final. Hes now also on a 22-match winning streak at Melbourne Park. "It is the first competitive match Ive had this season, I havent played for five or six weeks," Djokovic said. "I was a bit rusty on the court the first two sets. Afterwards it was all working well." Serenas sister, Venus Williams, started well earlier Monday but unforced errors in two key periods in her match sent the seven-time major winner out of the tournament. The elder Williams missed a break-point chance in the sixth game and then, after getting to 40-30 on serve in the ninth, inexplicably fired three consecutive double-faults to surrender a break and just about the set to No. 22-seeded Ekaterina Makarova. She took a 3-0 lead in the third before her unforced error toll climbed to 56 and Makarova won six of the next seven games for a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 win. The 33-year-old Venus Williams, the second-oldest player in the tournament, has struggled with injuries and illness in recent seasons but reached the final of the WTA event at Auckland to start 2014 and came to Melbourne saying she was feeling better than she had in years. "The last 12 months I have had issues," she said. "But this year I definitely am looking forward to having a good run and feeling well." Three-highly-ranked players were beaten in the first round, including 2011 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and two Italians, No. 7 Sara Errani and No. 12 Roberta Vinci. Sixth-seeded Kvitova lost 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 to No. 88-ranked Luksika Kumkhum of Thailand, who was playing in just her second Grand Slam tournament. Womens winners included two-time Australian Open finalist Li Na, Wimbledon semifinalist Kirsten Flipkens, No. 9 Angelique Kerber, 2011 U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur, No. 14 Ana Ivanovic, No. 26 Lucie Safarova, No. 28 Flavia Pennetta, No. 30 Eugenie Bouchard and No. 31 Daniela Hantuchova. Eighth-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka, who won the recent Chennai Open, was the first man into the next round, advancing after just 15 games when Andrey Golubev retired with an injured left leg. Other winners were third-ranked David Ferrer, No. 7 Tomas Berdych, No. 9 Richard Gasquet, No. 14 Mikhail Youzhny, No. 17 Tommy Robredo, No. 19 Kevin Anderson, No. 23 Ernests Gulbis, No. 29 Jeremy Chardy, No. 32 Ivan Dodig and American Sam Querrey. On Tuesday, in the tougher top half the mens draw, top-seeded Rafael Nadal, Wimbledon champion Andy Murray and Roger Federer are all in action. Robert Griffin III Jersey . Bjoergen pulled away from Swedens Charlotte Kalla on the final straight to win in 38 minutes, 33.6 seconds and defend her title from the 2010 Vancouver Games. Kalla was 1.8 seconds back. Heidi Weng of Norway took bronze. Custom Baltimore Ravens Jerseys . The freestyle skier from Calgary finished sixth in the qualification round with a total of 82.00 points. Groenewoud won a silver medal at the X Games last month, just over five weeks after undergoing double knee surgery. http://www.cheapravensshoponline.com/Youth-Orlando-Brown-Jr-Ravens-Jersey/ . A wide-eyed 18-year-old visiting North America for only the second time in his young life, Caboclo immediately noticed the "big tower" his new home is best known for.Houston, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - James Harden poured in a season-high 45 points to lead the Houston Rockets in a 110-98 win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday. Harden scored 33 after halftime and was one point off his career high set back on Feb. 20, 2013 against Oklahoma City. Dwight Howard totaled 14 points and 17 rebounds, while Corey Brewer chipped in with 13 points off the bench for Houston. C.J. Miles and Donald Sloan went for 23 and 17 points, respectively, off the Indiana bench. Were turning the ball over too much, said Pacers coach Frank Vogel. The Pacers have dropped five straight games. Patrick Beverley knocked down a pair of 3-pointers as part of a 17-4 run for Houston to begin the game. The Rockets maintained a double-digit lead for most of the half, but C.J. Watsons layup cut the deficit to 29-21 after 12 minutes. First of all, the way we came out is the way we should come out every single game, Harden said. Throughout the entire game, they couldnt gain any ground because we were consistent. Sloans four-point play capped a 13-2 spurt for Indiana midway through the second that trimmed the margin to one. Lamar Jackson Jersey. However, Jason Terry contributed seven points as Houston ripped off 12 straight to regain control. The Rockets brought a 55-45 lead into the locker room at half. Harden canned three consecutive 3-pointers that capped a 10-burst and increased the lead to 81-60 with over three minutes left in the third. Houston led by 21 entering the fourth, then Indiana sliced the deficit to 93-79 thanks to an 11-2 run early in the quarter. Sloan split a pair of free throws with 2 1/2 to play that made it an eight- point game, but Harden responded at the other end with a step-back jumper from the elbow and added two free throws to essentially seal the outcome. Game Notes Indiana has lost nine of its last 11 on the road against the Western Conference ... Ian Mahinmi grabbed a team-high 14 rebounds for the Pacers ... Houston shot 51.4 percent from the floor ... Each team scored 44 points in the paint. 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