Daniil Medvedev of Russia waves after defeating Kasidit Samrej of Thailand in their first-round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia. (AP )

MELBOURNE, Jan 14, (Xinhua): Fiery Russian Daniil Medvedev and 13th seed Holger Rune survived major frights on Tuesday, while Chinese women's players Wang Xiyu, Zhang Shuai and Wang Yafan progressed through to the Australian Open second round.

Fifth seed Medvedev has a tremendous record in Melbourne having made the final in three of the past four years.

But he almost crashed out on day three after facing a serious challenge from Thai Kasidit Samrej before prevailing 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena.

Medvedev's temper boiled over when he was down 3-5 in the third set and he slammed his racquet into the net camera repeatedly, causing a brief delay.

But Medvedev, a noted hothead, composed himself and dominated the final two sets in his first match since the ATP Finals in November.

Rune also battled hard before ousting China's top men's player Zhang Zhizhen 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in three hours and 10 minutes.

Zhang trailed 2-4 in a gripping final set before digging deep to break Rune's serve. But Rune lifted his intensity when it mattered to book a second-round match with former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini.

Eighth seed Alex de Minaur, Australia's main title hope, defeated Botic van de Zandschulp 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 at a raucous Rod Laver Arena in the night session.

In the women's draw, former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina thrashed Australian teenager Emerson Jones 6-1, 6-1.

The sixth seed was a class above the 16-year-old and needed just 53 minutes to move into the second round after serving 11 aces and hitting 26 winners.

"She has a great future and many more years on tour, but I am pretty happy with my performance," said Rybakina, who finished runners-up at the Australian Open to Aryna Sabalenka in 2023.

China's successful day in the women's draw started with 108th-ranked Wang Xiyu blasting past Julia Grabher 6-1, 7-5.

Unleashing powerful groundstrokes, the left-handed Wang hit 15 winners to book a second-round clash with eighth seed Emma Navarro.

World No. 64 Wang Yafan beat Hungary's Anna Bondar 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and 13 minutes to win her first-round match for the second straight year.

She fondly remembers Melbourne reaching the third round last year before losing to compatriot Zheng Qinwen in a three-set thriller.

Wang next plays ninth seed Daria Kasatkina.

Veteran Zhang Shuai's resurgence continued when she upset 47th-ranked McCartney Kessler 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 16 minutes.

The 204th-ranked Zhang, who earned her place in the draw after securing a wildcard, hit 26 winners to seal her spot in the second round against 24th seed Yulia Putintseva.

It wasn't all rosy for Chinese women's players with Wei Sijia's much-anticipated Grand Slam debut ending with a straight sets defeat to fourth seed Jasmine Paolini.

Paolini handed the 21-year-old Wei a lesson with a comfortable 6-0, 6-4 victory in 73 minutes.

In under two hours, Zheng Saisai failed to advance after being beaten by 20-year-old Russian Erika Andreeva 6-1, 7-6 (6).

But the 69th-ranked Zheng produced a moment of magic when she chased down a lob and hit a shot between her legs from behind the baseline, forcing Andreeva into error.