Serena Williams and Madison Keys Race Into Round Two - UBITENNIS

Serena Williams and Madison Keys Race Into Round Two

Serena Williams brushed aside Tatjana Maria in straight sets at the Australian Open, while Madison Keys easily beat Destinee Aiava.

By Michael Stafford-Jones
3 Min Read

Serena Williams put in a ruthless display to demolish Tatjana Maria 6-0 6-2 in just 49 minutes in their First Round match at the Australian Open.

The American, 37, recently spent time away from the WTA tour to have a baby and has not won a Grand Slam title since January 2017, but she looks determined to end that drought in Melbourne this year.

If any spectators stepped out for refreshments, they may have missed the entire opening set as Serena blazed through it in just 19 minutes with some typically explosive hitting.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion broke in the second, fourth and sixth games to win it 6-0. During that time, she hit nine winners, while Maria helped her out by making 10 unforced errors.

Mercifully for the German, she managed to get on the scoreboard in the second set when she held serve in the fourth game. She then produced an impressive display of serving when she hit two aces during a love hold in game six.

However, it only delayed the inevitable as Serena continued to dominate on her own serve. She soon closed out the set 6-2 to book a second round meeting with either Eugenie Bouchard or Peng Shuai.

Keys impresses in her first match in 2019

Serena will be joined in round two by fellow American Madison Keys, who recorded a comfortable 6-2 6-2 over Destinee Aiava.

Although it was her first match of the year, the World No.17 looked well-prepared for any challenges that came her way.

In the event, there were not many obstacles for Keys, as she won 83% of the points played on her serve and broke Aiava early in both sets and then again later on.

There were some good rallies for the crowd to enjoy, but they never really got into the match as it never threatened to turn into a genuine contest.

However, as Keys alluded to in her post-match interview, a match to ease herself in to the season was exactly what she wanted.

“I was having issues with my knee at the end of last year so I knew I wasn’t going to be ready for Brisbane,” the American said in her post-match interview. “I just wanted to be 100% ready for here.”

She continued, “It’s my first match of the year so I’m happy that I did everything pretty well. Obviously there are some things I want to work on (before my next match).”

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