The loss of former doubles champions Zhang Shuai and Samantha Stosur in round one of the Australian Open on Wednesday was a disappointing blow for Chinese and Aussie fans.

Zhang and Stosur lost a three set battle with Heather Watson and Leylah Annie Fernandez 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, dashing the chance to relive their 2019 victory.

"Today was a tough match. We went a long time without playing together and also my serve is still not 100 percent," Zhang told Xinhua in a post-match press conference.

"But we enjoy playing together, so we always say no matter we win or lose, we are just happy to be on court together."

Carrying on China's hopes in the doubles format were two other teams who advanced to round two -- Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan, and the China-Belgium duo of Zhu Lin and Mona Barthel.

Xu and Yang bounced back from a second set slump to claim victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Anastasija Sevastova 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, while Zhu and Barthel claimed a deciding third set to beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Marta Kostyuk 6-1, 3-6, 6-1.

Meanwhile, other Chinese pairing Duan Yingying and Zheng Saisai exited the tournament, losing in straight sets to Serbian Aleksandra Krunic and Italian Martina Trevisan 6-1, 6-3.

By far the most highly anticipated match of the day was the return of Stosur and Zhang, who separated in 2020 to focus on preparing for the Tokyo Olympics alongside partners from their own countries.

Having hardly played together for well over a year, the pair got off to a shaky start in their first round match with several errors losing them Stosur's serve in the first game.

From there both players lifted, clawing their way back into the match, displaying some impressive skills including a game winning ace by Stosur.

Zhang said that playing next to Stosur, who is much loved by Aussie spectators, she feels the support of the home crowd spurring them on.

"Especially when we're playing on Margaret Court Arena or Rod Laver Arena, there are so many fans watching and giving us a lot of help," she said.

Despite a great effort to claim the second set, the pair fell behind in the third, allowing a 4-0 deficit from which despite a valiant effort they were unable to recover.

Zhang said she enjoys playing in Australia during the summer, despite the temperature reaching over 30 degrees during their match.

"In China because now it is winter time it is so cold and there is snow in the north (of the country). So today was ok, I like sunshine."

Less familiar partners, Zhu and Barthel will face Trevisan and Krunic in the doubles on Friday, with the two teaming up for the first time at this year's event.

"I haven't played with my partner before. We just formed a team since the lead-in matches because the partners of both of us didn't come to Australia (due to the pandemic)," Zhu told Xinhua.

Zhu will also play in round two of the singles format on Thursday against a formidable Elise Mertens, as China's last surviving player in the draw.

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