World number one Serena Williams galloped into the third round of the Australian Open on Thursday after she made short work of Petra Kvitova with a 6-2 6-1 victory.
The top seed and defending champion was rarely bothered by the tall left-handed Czech teenager, and set up a third round clash with the potentially dangerous Carla Suarez Navarro, who beat Williams' older sister Venus at Melbourne Park last year. Kvitova did not have the best build-up for the tournament. She withdrew from the Auckland Classic with tonsillitis and was knocked out in qualifying for Hobart — a tournament she won in 2009 — before she beat American Jill Craybas in the first round.
Williams, however, was ruthlessly efficient on Thursday winning more than 90% of her first service points and breaking Kvitova on four occasions to win the match in 67 minutes when the Czech's angled forehand landed just wide.
