ROGER Federer and Novak Djokovic gave early notice of their intention to halt the ‘‘Rafa Slam’’ with impressive first-round wins at the Australian Open.

Rafael Nadal’s quest to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four grand slam titles simultaneously has captured the imagination but Federer and Djokovic will again offer the greatest challenge.

The Swiss and the Serb were in imperious form yesterday, Federer cruising past Lukas Lacko 6-1 6-1 6-3 and Djokovic easing to a 6-1 6-3 6-1 win over Marcel Granollers in a match which finished after midnight local time.

Record 16-time grand slam winner Federer was delighted with his display.

‘‘I thought I played great,’’ he said afterwards. ‘‘I thought it was a good match. I don’t think he played too bad himself.

I saw some talent in him and that’s why I was really happy I chose the tactic early on to pressure him.

‘‘That it worked was great and I’m obviously very happy.’’ Next up for Federer is Frenchman Gilles Simon, who has won both their previous two meetings.

‘‘That doesn’t affect my preparation,’’ Federer insisted.

‘‘Maybe I will look just a bit more into what has worked and what has not worked against him in the past.

‘‘I have to remember the good things I did, because both matches we did play against each other were close.’’ Djokovic was even better than Federer in the final match of the day on Rod Laver Arena.

He claimed the Granollers serve seven times and never let the Spaniard settle.

‘‘Definitely I’m satisfied with the performance,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s my first competitive match (of 2011). I had a couple in the Hopman Cup, but this is different. It’s a grand slam and the best-of-five.

‘‘I had around seven, eight days between the Hopman Cup and the start of the Australian Open to get ready. I practised really hard and worked on a couple of things.’’ Eighth seed Andy Roddick enjoyed an equally emphatic start, beating Jan Hajek 6-1 6- 2 6-2, while Gael Monfils staged an astonishing recovery from two sets and 5-2 down to overcome Holland’s Thiemo De Bakker.

De Bakker looked poised to complete the best win of his career at a grand slam when he served for the match at 5-3 but the moment got to him on the Hisense Arena which allowed Monfils to storm back.

The 12th-seeded Frenchman broke again to claim the set before running through the fourth and fifth to clinch it 6-7 (5/7) 2-6 7-5 6-2 6-1.

Mardy Fish was another seed to hit back from a desperate position, overcoming Victor Hanescu 2-6 4-6 6-3 7-5 6-3.

Justine Henin hopes her three-set victory over Sania Mirza will give her the rhythm she requires to launch a bid to claim the title.

The 11th-seeded Belgian, playing her first tour match since losing to countrywoman Kim Clijsters in the last 16 at Wimbledon last year due to an elbow injury, overcame the Indian 5-7 6-3 6-1.