The 13-race series started with a victory for defending champions Team New Zealand as they profited from an early slip-up from Luna Rossa to win by 31 seconds after 23 minutes of racing.

But Italian challengers Luna Rossa responded to take the second race by seven seconds after crossing the finish line in 24:21.

The victory leaves the contest finely poised ahead of races three and four, which are scheduled to take place on March 12.

"All the Italians are really happy with the result," said Francesco Bruni, co-helmsman of Luna Rossa.

"I have received a lot of messages but we are not satisfied as we want more.

"I am very happy with how the day went and the performance of the boat was very good.

"It is really positive that we can have some really good races in the future."

Team New Zealand helmsman Pete Burling admitted it was a "tricky day" on the water.

"There were a lot of small wind shifts and what today showed is that if you get behind from the start it’s very hard to pass," said Burling.

"We did very well in the first start and Luna Rossa will be kicking themselves with how they did there.

"But it was vice-versa in the second race where we made a small mistake when we thought we were in a good position and dropped off a little bit.

"It is hard to pass but we are really happy with how we dug deep in that last race and nearly managed to close things out."

The opening weekend of racing in the America's Cup was postponed due to the enforcement of a COVID-19 lockdown in Auckland.

Competition had originally been scheduled to start on March 6.

It is due to conclude on March 15.

The winner will be the first team to score seven points.