Alexander Kudryavtsev was heard calling Australian spectators 'animals' while complaining to the umpire during his match against local favourite Marinko Matosevic.

Second seed Roger Federer, who claimed his 50th win of 2014, is bidding to become the oldest major winner in over 40 years.

Djokovic has been putting in training and tests on his injured right ankle over the past few days. He will begin against Russian Mikhail Youzhny, who stands a respectable 3-4 in their career series.

Juan Martin del Potro defeated Slovenian qualifier Grega Zemlja 7-5, 6-3 on Sunday to win his first title at the Austrian Open and improve his standing in the race to the year-end championships.

Marinko Matosevic of Australia rallied to defeat sixth-seeded Robin Haase of the Netherlands 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Monday in the opening round of the Erste Bank Open.