Chinese doubles stars impress in round one of the Australian Open

With on-court temperatures at the Australian Open hitting above 40 degrees Celsius on Thursday, the 6th seeded women's doubles pair Xu Yifan and her Canadian partner Gabriela Dabrowski, had no interest in getting a sun tan.

The impressive performance saw the two shut out their European opponents, Kirsten Flipkens and Francesca Schiavone, 6-3, 6-2, with the 29-year-old Chinese hitter looking sharp in the stifling conditions and dominant when she attacked the net.

Now into the second round, the cross-continental duo have strong chance of making it even further in the tournament.

It was a similar story for Yang Zhaoxuan and her Japanese partner Shuko Aoyama, disposing of Taylor Townsend and Renata Voracova 6-4, 6-4.

China's Yang Zhaoxuan (L) and her Japanese partner Shuko Aoyama in action during their first round match in women's doubles at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, on January 18, 2018. [Photo: Xinhua/Bai Xuefei]

The pair have played together a number of times at tournaments over the past year and appear to be in fine form as they move into the second round.

In the other match-up that featured Chinese talent, Jiang Xinyu and Tang Qianhui battled bravely in the midday sun, pushing their opponents Mona Barthel and Carina Witthoeft to the brink.

Chinese duo Jiang Xinyu and Tang Qianhui in action during their first round of 2018 Australian Open in Melbourne on January 18, 2018. [Photo: VCG]

But the extremely entertaining, hard fought contest went the German's way, with the final score finishing 7-6 (5-7), 5-7.