Serena Williams plays a shot during her women's singles match against Belgium's Alison Van Uytvanck
Venus and Serena Williams advanced in the Australian Open after winning their opening-round matches on Tuesday morning.
Venus easily defeated Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor 6-2 6-2, before Serena put in an up-and-down performance to beat Alison van Uytvanck 6-0 6-4.
The sisters will advance in the tournament that Serena has won five times and Venus reached the final of in 2003.
First challenge passed
Serena offered no clue to the arduous second set that awaited her as she effortlessly overpowered Van Uytvanck to win six straight games in a mere 21 minutes.
But the plucky 20-year-old from Belgium showed remarkable resilience for such a novice competing against the world’s best player, rallying back in the second set much to the Melbourne Park crowd’s delight.
After she finally got onto the score-board in the eighth game of the match, she was spurred on by a rapturous ovation from the crowd - Serena let out a scream of anger when a stray ball landed wide of the mark signalling her frustration.
Van Uytvanck won her second service game to make it 2-2 while Serena struggled to assert the authority of her own serve, noticeably wobbling for a brief period under her challenger’s pressure. A Van Uytvanck drop shot left Serena spread out on the floor but it was a highlight in a match that she was never in serious contention to win.
The 18-time Grand Slam champion edged the final two games and shrieked out her emotions at overcoming Van Uytvanck’s impressive effort. She will play Vera Zvonareva next.
Comfortable
Previously, Venus had enjoyed a comfortable route into the next round against Torro-Flor.
The world No 18 was not made to demonstrate whether she is a realistic contender to win the Australian Open as she immediately seemed too much for the Spaniard.
Venus’ 15th Melbourne Park tournament began with two break points inside seven minutes before Torro-Flor conceded the set with her fourth double-fault. She made short work of the second set and will face either Lauren Davis or Aleksandra Krunic next.