The six-time Australian tennis Open champion, Serena Williams, has breathed a sigh of relief after seeing off Belinda Bencic to reach the second round of the Australian Open in Melbourne.
Serena Williams. Photo: Photosport
Improving her phenomenal first-round record at grand slams to 66 wins and one defeat, Williams beat the highly rated Swiss teenager 6-4 6-3 in one hour, 19 minutes on Tuesday.
The American, who made double the number of unforced errors as her 19-year-old opponent, wobbled trying to close out the match, losing three successive games from 3-love in the second set, before advancing.
"She's such a great player. She was just recently in the top 10 so she's been playing great," Williams said.
"It was one of the toughest first-round matches I've played so I knew I had to come out strong."
Williams next plays Czech Lucie Safarova on Thursday in a rematch of their 2015 French Open final.
- AAP