Former world No.1 Angelique Kerber recovered from a slow start and was forced to fight for her straight-sets win over Belgium's Elise Mertens in their Hopman Cup tie in Perth.
There were 11 breaks of serve in the two sets that each went to a tie-break, before Kerber won 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-1).
The German took 56 minutes to claim the opening set. It was a struggle for the 29-year-old, who had her serve broken twice, was called for two foot-faults and survived a set point.
The second set wasn't much easier though it started well. Kerber raced to a 4-1 lead, breaking her 22-year-old opponent's serve twice. She even had two attempts to take a 5-1 advantage.
But Kerber, now ranked No.21, let the up-and-coming Mertens back into the game.
The Belgian, ranked No.36, won four consecutive games to take a 5-4 lead in the set but she couldn't serve to level the match and the experience of Kerber shone through again in the second tiebreak.
The German was satisfied with the quality of the match, which kicked off her Australian campaign.
"I think it was a good match from both of us; a really high quality," she said.
"For me, it gives me a bit of confidence starting the year like this - playing good tennis again.
"After the long break, playing tennis again, it is always different and tough but actually I am really happy about the first match and how I was feeling on court."
Kerber is partnering world No.4 Alexander Zverev in an attempt to win Germany's second Hopman Cup title and their first since 1995.
Zverev will face world No.7 David Goffin in the men's singles in an attempt to claim the tie without having to rely on winning the mixed doubles.
Belgium have never won the Hopman Cup and have not sent a team since 2011.
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