Ashleigh Barty led the local charge and then hailed the first day of the 2019 Australian Open as a potentially career-changing one for a host of compatriots who won on Monday.

Barty, who is seeded 15th for the Melbourne Park event, thrashed Thailand’s Luksika Kumkhum 6-2 6-2 in just 57 minutes on Margaret Court Arena.

She was one of eight Australian winners on a steamy day one, joining top men’s hope Alex de Minaur, John Millman, Matthew Ebden, Jordan Thompson, Zoe Hives, Kimberly Birrell and Astra Sharma in the second round.

Asked if the Australian success made it a special day for the country, Barty told reporters: “We are all aware of it, absolutely.

“Especially on the female side, there’s a few young Aussies that got a win today.

“Really excited for them. I think it’s shown the depth that is in Australian tennis on the female side.

"Australians are hungry for sport. They love it. They're addicted to it…they're looking for an Australian player, in particular, to go deep and have a really good run."

– @ashbar96 🇦🇺#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/Gdylv1k4gl

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 14, 2019

“Yes, those players at the moment are outside the top 100, between 100 [and] 300 in the world, but they’re absolutely scratching the surface.

“I don’t think it will be long before they’re breaking through that ceiling.”

Hives, 22 and ranked 225th, cruised past American Bethanie Mattek Sands 6-1 6-2 in only 61 minutes.

The 20-year-old Birrell, who trains with Barty on a regular basis, proved too good for Spanish qualifier Paula Badosa Gibert 6-4 6-2, while Sharma continued her impressive Open streak against countrywoman Priscilla Hon.

Sharma won through qualifying after an excellent run of form that saw her topple No.1 seed Vera Zvonareva and backed it up with a 7-5 4-6 6-1 win against Hon.

Sharma will play Greece’s Maria Sakkari in the second round, while Birrell and Hives will face seeded players Donna Vekic and Caroline Garcia respectively. Barty takes on China’s Yafan Wang.

In the men’s singles, de Minaur, fresh off a win at the Sydney International, needed less than two hours to defeat Portugal’s Pedro Sousa 6-4 7-5 6-4.

.@alexdeminaur is loving every minute of the Australian summer ☀️

"To feed off the energy of the crowd. I mean, the support I've been getting has been amazing. Just makes you want to go out there, compete and have fun."#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/1EOscez5l4

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 14, 2019

The 19-year-old was unhappy with Open officials for having to play on Monday following a big week in Sydney that saw him win both a semi-final and final on Saturday but he did not need to worry, cruising past Sousa to earn a well-deserved day off.

“It was pretty hot out there, but I thought I managed the conditions really well,” the 27th seed told reporters.

He next plays Henri Laaksonen.

“Happy to get through in straight sets … I’m looking forward to tomorrow. I’ll just take it easy.”

Bernard Tomic will not be joining de Minaur in the second round as last year’s finalist, Croatian Marin Cilic, beat him 6-2 6-4 7-6 (7-3).

The sixth seed hit 24 aces in his win and James Duckworth was another Aussie to come unstuck against a top seed, Rafael Nadal toppling the wildcard 6-4 6-3 7-5.

The news was better for the likes of Millman, Thompson and Ebden, though.

Millman beat Argentine Federico Delbonis 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 and Thompson saw off the challenge of Spain’s Feliciano Lopez 6-1 7-6 (7-6) 6-3. 

Ebden won in four sets, too, coming from behind to beat German Jan-Lennard Struff 1-6 6-4 6-3 6-4.

He will play Nadal on Wednesday, while Thompson takes on Italian Andreas Seppi.

Marc Polmans, Jason Kubler and Ellen Perez were other Australians to exit on day one.

Around the courts

"If this was my last match, it was an amazing way to end."

– Andy Murray 🙏#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/84qZiqau1C

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 14, 2019

Andy Murray may have played his last match at the Australian Open.

The Scot, who last week flagged retirement plans after claiming the pain from a persistent hip injury was “too much”, was beaten in five thrilling sets against Roberto Bautista Agut.

Bautista Agut, who next plays Millman, won 6-4 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 in what was the match of the day.

Defending champions Roger Federer and Caroline Wozniacki made bright starts on Rod Laver Arena, defeating Denis Istomin and Alison Van Uytvanck in straight sets respectively.

Former World No.1 Maria Sharapova and second seed Angelique Kerber also won easily, the former thrashing British qualifier Harriet Dart 6-0 6-0.

American Reilly Opelka produced one of the biggest men’s singles upsets of the day, knocking out ninth seed John Isner in a four-set clash that included 87 aces, while in the women’s singles, 14th seed Julia Goerges was also a surprise loser, going down to American Danielle Collins in three sets.