MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic was having an easy time of it in his first-round match at the Australian Open, so he decided to experiment by coming to the net.

Like pretty much anything he does on the tennis court these days, it was an unqualified success. He easily beat Paolo Lorenzi 6-2, 6-0, 6-0 on Tuesday to advance to the second round and continue his quest to join Rod Laver, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal by winning three straight Grand Slam singles titles.

“When you’re 3- , 4-love up, why not try some other things, something that is not characteristic for your game,” said Djokovic, who usually doesn’t stray far from the baseline.

“But I am definitely working on my net game, approaching the short balls as much as I can, and take my chances.”

He took them well, winning 21 of 26 points he attempted at the net.

While Djokovic looks to extend his Grand Slam success, reigning U.S. Open women’s champion and Australian hope Sam Stosur was beaten in the following match, and a full and partisan house at Rod Laver Arena could do nothing to help.

The sixth-seeded Stosur was outplayed by Sorana Cirstea 7-6 (2), 6-3. The Romanian later told the crowd that “probably the whole country hates me now.”

Serena Williams, a five-time Australian Open champion who lost to Stosur in the U.S. Open final, was due to play her first-round match Tuesday against Tamira Paszek of Austria.