Share

Serena sweeps past Barty

Melbourne - A clinical Serena Williams swept past local hope Ashleigh Barty to get her Australian Open underway Monday and move one step closer to an 18th Grand Slam title.

The American world number one, the overwhelming favourite to win a sixth Melbourne crown, wasted little energy in swatting aside the young Australian 6-2, 6-1 in under an hour to set up a second round clash with Serbia's Vesna Dolonc.

Williams had never lost in the opening round of the Australian Open in 13 previous appearances and has only fallen once at the first hurdle in 53 Slams, highlighting the massive odds facing the 17-year-old.

"I want to do well here, I would love to have a win, but there are so many good opponents," Williams said of the tournament.

"I think I need to just come out and enjoy myself."

Barty, the world number 155 and a wildcard, won her opening service game to a huge cheer from the crowd but Williams was just finding her stride, easily holding the next then breaking the Australian to signal her intent.

Williams, in a figure-hugging pink and black outfit, then went through the gears, smashing winners on the forehand and backhand to silence the partisan support at Rod Laver Arena and wrap up the opening set in 31 minutes.

She began the second where she left off, breaking Barty immediately and holding her booming serve, which reached 192 kilometres (119 miles) per hour, as the youngster struggled to stay in touch.

Another break put her 3-0 up as the winners kept coming and the grunts got louder.

The 32-year-old held serve for 4-0 before Barty woke up the crowd by holding serve, adding respectability to the second set scoreline, before Williams wrapped up the match in just 57 minutes.

Despite the lopsided result, she paid tribute to Barty.

"I was ready because I know she is such a good player and has a bright future," she said.

Williams is gunning to match Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova's 18 Grand Slam titles and few are betting against her after a formidable 2013 in which she won a career-best 11 trophies.

The American also won the Brisbane International warm-up earlier this month, defeating defending Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka in the final.

She now has a 59-8 record at the Australian Open.

Results from the Australian Open on Monday:

Men's singles

First round

Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI x8) bt Andrey Golubev (KAZ) 6-4, 4-1 ret

Ivan Dodig (CRO x32) bt Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 7-6 (10/8), 6-3, 7-6 (7/4)

Mikhail Youzhny (RUS x14) bt Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) 6-1, 6-4, 6-2

Sam Querrey (USA) bt Santiago Giraldo (COL) 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7/3)

Damir Dzumhur (BIH) bt Jan Hajek (CZE) 6-4, 6-2, 6-1

Adrian Mannarino (FRA) bt Steve Johnson (USA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-0, 5-7, 6-4

Richard Gasquet (FRA x9) bt David Guez (FRA) 7-5, 6-4, 6-1

Tomas Berdych (CZE x7) bt Aleksandr Nedovyesov (KAZ) 6-3, 6-4, 6-3

Dominic Thiem (AUT) bt Joao Sousa (POR) 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3)

David Ferrer (ESP x3) bt Alejandro Gonzalez (COL) 6-3, 6-4, 6-4

Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) bt Dudi Sela (ISR) 3-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 6-3

Florian Mayer (GER) bt Denis Kudla (USA) 6-4, 6-2, 6-4

Alejandro Falla (COL) bt Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) 6-7 (2/7), 6-2, 6-2, 6-3

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) bt Tommy Haas (GER x12) 7-5, 5-2 ret

Julien Benneteau (FRA) bt Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP) 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2

Kevin Anderson (RSA x19) bt Jiri Vesely (CZE) 2-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4

Matthew Ebden (AUS) bt Nicolas Mahut (FRA) 6-3, 7-5, 4-6, 0-6, 6-3

Jeremy Chardy (FRA x29) bt Jesse Huta Galung (NED) 6-2, 6-4, 6-4

Fabio Fognini (ITA x15) bt Alex Bogomolov Jr. (RUS) 6-3, 6-2 ret

Ernests Gulbis (LAT x23) bt Juan Monaco (ARG) 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2

Leonardo Mayer (ARG) bt Albert Montanes (ESP) 6-1, 6-3, 6-1

Kenny De Schepper (FRA) bt Wu Di (CHN) 7-5, 7-5, 7-6 (7/2)

Jerzy Janowicz (POL x20) bt Jordan Thompson (AUS) 1-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1

Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA) bt Carlos Berlocq (ARG) 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (9/11), 6-2

Tommy Robredo (ESP x17) bt Lukas Rosol (CZE) 6-1, 6-7 (7/9), 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 8-6

Pablo Andujar (ESP) bt Albert Ramos (ESP) 6-4, 6-2, 6-4

Vasek Pospisil (CAN x28) bt Samuel Groth (AUS) 6-4, 6-3, 6-4

Dmitry Tursunov (RUS x30) bt Michael Russell (USA) 6-2, 6-2, 6-3

Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR) bt Ricardas Berankis (LTU) 7-5, 7-5, 6-2

Novak Djokovic (SRB x2) bt Lukas Lacko (SVK) 6-3, 7-6 (7/2), 6-1

Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) bt Lukasz Kubot (POL) 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4

Denis Istomin (UZB) bt Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) 6-4, 7-5, 6-4

Women's singles

First round

Kirsten Flipkens (BEL x18) bt Laura Robson (GBR) 6-3, 6-0

Angelique Kerber (GER x9) bt Jarmila Gajdosova (AUS) 6-3, 0-6, 6-2

Belinda Bencic (SUI) bt Kimiko Date-Krumm (JPN) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3

Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS) bt Caroline Garcia (FRA) 6-2, 7-6 (9/7)

Monica Puig (PUR) bt Anna Tatishvili (GEO) 6-2, 6-4

Irina Falconi (USA) bt Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) 6-3, 6-1

Karolina Pliskova (CZE) bt Pauline Parmentier (FRA) 6-0, 6-1

Daniela Hantuchova (SVK x31) bt Heather Watson (GBR) 7-5, 3-6, 6-3

Ekaterina Makarova (RUS x22) bt Venus Williams (USA) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4

Casey Dellacqua (AUS) bt Vera Zvonareva (RUS) 6-2, 6-2

Li Na (CHN x4) bt Ana Konjuh (CRO) 6-2, 6-0

Eugenie Bouchard (CAN x30) bt Hao Chen Tang (CHN) 7-5, 6-1

Ana Ivanovic (SRB x14) bt Kiki Bertens (NED) 6-4, 6-4

Annika Beck (GER) bt Petra Martic (CRO) 6-0, 6-0

Virginie Razzano (FRA) bt Alison Van Uytvanck (BEL) 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/3)

Lucie Hradecka (CZE) bt Donna Vekic (CRO) 6-3, 6-1

Flavia Pennetta (ITA x28) bt Alexandra Cadantu (ROU) 6-0, 6-2

Vesna Dolonc (SRB) bt Lara Arruabarrena (ESP) 2-6, 6-2, 6-4

Lucie Safarova (CZE x26) bt Julia Glushko (ISR) 7-5, 3-6, 6-1

Zheng Jie (CHN) bt Roberta Vinci (ITA x12) 6-4, 6-3

Mona Barthel (GER) bt Zhang Shuai (CHN) 7-6 (7/4), 6-3

Monica Niculescu (ROU) bt Shahar Peer (ISR) 6-4, 6-1

Julia Goerges (GER) bt Sara Errani (ITA x7) 6-3, 6-2

Madison Keys (USA) bt Patricia Mayr-Achleitner (AUT) 6-2, 6-7 (8/10), 9-7

Samantha Stosur (AUS x17) bt Klara Zakopalova (CZE) 6-3, 6-4

Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) bt Silvia Soler-Espinosa (ESP) 6-3, 6-2

Sabine Lisicki (GER x15) bt Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (CRO) 6-2, 6-1

Luksika Kumkhum (THA) bt Petra Kvitova (CZE x6) 6-2, 1-6, 6-4

Alison Riske (USA) bt Elena Vesnina (RUS x23) 6-2, 6-2

Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) bt Dinah Pfizenmaier (GER) 7-6 (7/5), 6-3

Lauren Davis (USA) bt Sachia Vickery (USA) 6-3, 6-3

Serena Williams (USA x1) bt Ashleigh Barty (AUS) 6-2, 6-1

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
25% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1471 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2250 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE