US Open champion Dominic Thiem blamed his stuttering start to the Australian Open on the speed of the courts after coming through a tough opening test Monday. The third-seeded Austrian, a narrow loser to Novak Djokovic in last year`s Melbourne final, finally got over the line 7-6 (7/2), 6-2, 6-3 against Kazakh veteran Mikhail Kukushkin. "I just needed some time to adjust," said Thiem, who is bidding for his maiden Australian Open title. 

"I mean, I like to have time, so the fast court takes it away a little bit for me, so that`s not perfect. "But I have to get used to it anyway. I have the feeling that it`s one of the faster tournaments I`ve played in recent years, but it`s like that, that`s tennis." Kukushkin, 33, had lost his opening-round match at Melbourne on 11 of his previous 12 appearances. After saving a set point in the tie-breaker, Thiem dialled up the aggression in the second set as Kukushkin began to misfire. When Thiem broke through for a 3-2 lead there was no way back for the 89th ranked Kazak.