Australian Open 2019: Serena Williams beats Eugenie Bouchard as Simona Halep digs deep to progress

Serena Williams has proved in the past that a lack of warm-up matches need not be a problem and the 23-times Grand Slam champion reinforced that point with her 6-2, 6-2 victory here on Thursday over Eugenie Bouchard at the Australian Open.

Williams arrived here having not played any competitive matches since last year’s controversial US Open final, having appeared only in an exhibition event in the Middle East and the Hopman Cup in Perth in her build-up to the year’s opening Grand Slam tournament.

The former world No 1, who will now take on Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska, needs one more victory to match Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 Grand Slam titles. Williams has lost in the final of the last two Grand Slam tournaments but has an excellent record here, having won this title seven times, which is an open era record.

Bouchard has her own Grand Slam pedigree, having enjoyed her annus mirabilis in 2014, when she reached the final at Wimbledon and the semi-finals at the Australian Open and French Open. However, she has struggled ever since and has never gone beyond the third round at any Grand Slam tournament since 2015.

The 24-year-old Canadian has tried changing coaches a number of times and is currently working with Michael Joyce following his split with Johanna Konta at the end of last year.

Williams broke in the opening game and was soon 3-0 up. Bouchard made a better start in the second set but Williams closed out her victory by winning the last five games. At 2-4 Bouchard double-faulted on break point to give Williams the chance to serve out for the match, which she gratefully accepted.

“It wasn’t an easy match,” Williams said afterwards. “Genie has been to the final at Wimbledon and the semi-finals at other Grand Slams. I knew: ‘OK, Serena, you’ve got to come out hot, you’ve got to come out firing.’ She’s a really good player.

“I haven’t had many matches since last year, but it’s OK. I was able to spend time with my daughter and that’s what mattered most to me.”

Asked how she had spent her time off the court, Williams said she had spent every day with her daughter, Olympia. “I’ve always been told that they grow up so fast,” she said. “I wanted to be able to take that time and say that I was able to spend it with her. It meant a lot to me, so I was really happy I was able to do that.”

Williams’ sister, Venus, is unseeded at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in five years, but the world No 36 is making steady progress. Venus, who was runner-up to her sister Serena in both 2003 and 2017, beat Alize Cornet 6-3, 4-6, 6-0, but will face a much tougher challenge in the third round when she takes on Simona Halep.

Halep has not had an easy time in the last five months, but the world No 1 demonstrated her fighting qualities to beat Sofia Kenin 6-3, 6-7, 6-4. Kenin, a 20-year-old American who has climbed 76 places in the world rankings in the last year top her present position at No 37, led 4-2 in the deciding set before losing the last four games of the match.

“I have no idea how I won tonight,” Halep said afterwards. “I got a little bit injured in the second set but I just fought because I wanted to win.”

Halep had not won a match since August when she arrived here. She ended her 2018 campaign in October because of a back problem and in the off season parted company with her coach, Darren Cahill, who said he wanted to spend more time with his family. She has yet to replace him.

Twelve months ago Halep went within a point of defeat in two matches here but went on to reach the final, in which she was beaten by Caroline Wozniacki.

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Naomi Osaka beat Tamara Zidansek, an unseeded Slovenian, 6-2, 6-4, but the match was not without its problems for the US Open champion. Osaka called for the trainer and took medication when leading 2-1 in the second set, though she refused to go into any details afterwards about what her problem had been.

Osaka, who had a back injury at the end of last year and pulled out of last week’s Sydney International, told journalists afterwards: “I was able to finish and win the match, so it's not that big of a deal. It's something that I have to keep an eye on. I'm not telling you, though. You'll never guess. You'll never find out.”

Elina Svitolina looked more comfortable during her 6-4, 6-1 victory over Viktoria Kuzmova than she did after it as her relationship with Gael Monfils was made public by her on-court interviewer. The Frenchman was in Svitolina's player box during the match and she was asked about him afterwards.

"I didn't really expect to be asked that because I just finished my match,” Svitolina said. “He's there for me, he's supporting me, and I'm there for him as well. He understands, I understand, what we're going through. It's great.”

Karolina Pliskova, the No 7 seed, lost the first set to Madison Brengle but recovered to win 4-6, 6-1, 6-0. She will now meet Camila Giorgi, who beat Iga Swiatek 6-2, 6-0. Madison Keys beat Anastasia Potapova 6-3, 6-4 and now faces Elise Mertens, who beat Margarita Gasparyan 6-1, 7-5.