MONICA SELES appeared in little trouble from a groin injury as she swept to a straight sets victory in her opening match at the Australian Open early this morning. The top seed powered to a 6-3, 6-0 win over American qualifier Janet Lee in a 46 minute match on centre court.

Seles, who strained her groin muscle during her three set victory over American Lindsay Davenport in last Sunday's final of the Sydney International at White City, appeared in no discomfort. The two handed backhands and forehands fairly sizzled against 19 year old Lee, ranked 164 in the world and a product of the United States Tennis Association's junior development system.

Lee traded forehands with the tenacious Seles in a contested opening set, but her serve was broken three times in the second set. Seles won 55 points to Lee's 29 and was successful with 74 per cent of her first serves, spiced with 26 forehand and backhand winners.

Seles will play Slovakian Katarina Studenikova, ranked 78th, who beat Belgian Dominique Van Roost yesterday.

"It's still sore when I have to move for a few shots," Seles said after her match. "But I decided I wasn't going to tape it for the match, because I don't feel easy with it on.

"I am still getting treatment for it and icing it twice daily. It's not the greatest but nothing too much for me not to play and I'm just going to play point for point like last Sunday and tough it out."

Seles, who has now stretched her unbeaten record in the Australian Open to 22, said she felt excited walking out on centre court for the first time in three years.

Elsewhere in the women's draw, fifth seed Kimiko Date took a minute longer than Seles in disposing of Mexican Angelica Gavaldon, 6-2, 6-0 in 47 minutes, while seventh seed Iva Majoli of Croatia, eliminated Russian Elena Makarova, 6-4, 6-2 in 81 minutes.