Laura Siegemund

The American star was dominant on her way to a 6-1 6-1 victory over Siegemund on Rod Laver Arena on Monday.

Williams is aiming to join Margaret Court on a record 24 grand slam singles titles and she had no problems against the German in Melbourne.

She improved to 20-0 in the first round of the Australian Open, showing few signs of a shoulder injury she expects to be dealing with throughout the tournament.

Williams lost just 10 games in her previous two wins over Siegemund, but the seven-time Australian Open winner was broken in the opening game.

But Siegemund produced too many errors from then on, Williams winning in just 56 minutes to set up a clash against Nina Stojanovic.

Data Slam: Serena cruises after initial nerves
Williams was broken to 15 in the opening game when Siegemund produced a forehand return winner. However, she steadied, reeling off the next 10 games on her way to a comfortable win.

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Williams – 16/15
Siegemund – 4/20

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Williams – 4/1
Siegemund – 0/3

BREAK POINTS WON
Williams – 6/9
Siegemund – 1/1

American hope Gauff, the sixth seed, was left frazzled by qualifier Laura Siegemund’s incredible anticipation and volleying in the first set.

But the match swung after an epic 26-minute first game of the second set, a minute longer than Iga Swiatek had taken to win her first set against Rebecca Peterson.

In front of the watching former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, Gauff went toe-to-toe with the German at the net and finally converted a break point at the eighth attempt.

The pair slugged it out with some stunning rallies, firing volley after volley at each other in a match more akin to doubles than singles.

A niggly encounter boiled over when Gauff, tiring of the type of delaying tactics from Siegemund which would have had Premier League referees’ chief Howard Webb in a lather, raged at chair umpire Marijana Veljovic.

The youngster could barely contain her delight when Veljovic deducted Siegemund a point for not being ready to receive, giving Gauff a 5-1 lead in the decider.

“Slow!” was Gauff’s verdict on the match after closing out a 3-6 6-2 6-4 victory in two hours and 51 minutes.

“I mean it was a tough match,” she added. “I wasn’t playing my best tennis and Laura fights to the end. I managed to overcome some adversity so I’m happy to get through.”

Gauff will play another teenager, 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva, in round two.

World number one Swiatek had earlier helped herself to a New York bagel to get her title defence off to the perfect start.

The 22-year-old from Poland dropped just eight points as she took the first set to love against Rebecca Peterson.

Sweden’s Peterson did get on the board early in the second but Swiatek, bidding for a fifth grand-slam title, completed a comprehensive 6-0 6-1 victory in just 58 minutes.

“I really wanted to play solid and start the tournament with everything I practised on,” she said.

“I’m happy to play such a great game and despite all the pressure and expectation I can still have fun on the court.”

There was an upset on day one at Flushing Meadows with eighth seed Maria Sakkari from Greece bowing out 6-4 6-4 to Spanish world number 71 Rebeka Masarova.

Fourth seed Elena Rybakina, last year’s Wimbledon champion, had no such trouble, dispatching Marta Kostyuk 6-2 6-1.

Victoria Azarenka, a three-time finalist, beat Fiona Ferro 6-1 6-2 and Czech 10th seed Karolina Muchova sank Storm Hunter of Australia 6-4 6-0.

The two-time Wimbledon champion is back in the last four at Roland-Garros for the first time since 2012 after recording a 6-3 6-3 victory on Wednesday.

Kvitova did not have to defend a break point in a comfortable first set and then came out on top of a more competitive second to beat the world number 66 in 80 minutes.

The winner of an all-American clash between Danielle Collins and Sofia Kenin will meet Kvitova in the last four.

A solitary break was enough to settle the first set, Kvitova claiming that in the fourth game when her German opponent sent a backhand long and wrapping up the opener in just 32 minutes with a forehand winner down the line.

Kvitova quickly racked up three break points in first game of second set and struck when Siegemund, who was playing in the second week of a grand slam for the first time, sent a drop shot into the net.

Siegemund did not fold from there, though, forcing four break points and taking the last of those to level matters at 2-2.

Kvitova made an instant response as Siegemund received a time violation and then took a medical timeout, only for the Czech to be broken for a second straight game in a stark contrast to the opening set, which produced just one break point in total.

She moved decisively in front when a volleyed winner secured her third break of the set at 4-3, from which Kvitova held serve and then duly broke again as a double fault ended Siegemund's challenge and sent the seventh seed through.

Kvitova, a semi-finalist at Roland Garros in 2012, had only gone as far as the third round in Paris in the previous four years and did not compete in the competition in 2019.

But she showed fight and gusto to battle back from a major deficit in the first set and eventually see off Fernandez, who only turned 18 last month.

Kenin was given a lot less to worry about against her Romanian opponent, barely breaking a sweat as she swept past Bara with consummate ease and brought out the party tricks.

KVITOVA RISES TO THE CHALLENGE

A major shock appeared to be on the cards for Fernandez for a while in this contest, as the youngster found herself 5-1 to the good in the opening set.

She even had two set points, but Fernandez – the junior champion at Roland Garros just last year – could not quite hold her nerve.

Kvitova rattled off nine games in succession to impressively rise to the occasion, showing immense willpower and focus to recover from such a deficit and seal the first set.

After consecutive breaks on her serve at the start of the second, Fernandez did hit back with one of her own as she too showed some spirit – but it was too little, too late, as the experienced two-time Wimbledon champion powered to victory with 32 winners to 19.

The challenge she faced was not lost on Kvitova, as she said: "I definitely think that she is really playing a great game. She's a great mover. She catches a lot of balls and if she has a chance, she's really going for it.

"It was really challenging today. I'm really happy I found a way even though it wasn't easy."

Her reward is a meeting with Zhang Shuai, who saw off France's Clara Burel 7-6 (7-2) 7-5.

FLYING KENIN TRIES THE TRICKS

Kenin will take some stopping on this form. The fourth seed was imperious against Bara, winning 6-2 6-0 in one hour and 12 minutes.

The Australian Open champion rattled off 34 winners and achieved an in-match double bagel, winning 12 games on the spin after falling behind to an early break.

"I feel like I'm playing well at the slams," she said. "Obviously I feel like I should get deep in a tournament. I'm a bit hard on myself. It's a little bit different mindset now coming into the slams.

"Towards the end I just started getting a little bit careless. I started like doing drop shots towards the end, like just for fun. I was like, 'why not? Let's just do drop shots'. But then she obviously picked up her game."

Next up for Kenin is Frenchwoman Fiona Ferro, who beat Patricia Maria Tig 7-6 (9-7) 4-6 6-0.

JABEUR BLAZING A TRAIL AS MUGURUZA CRASHES AND BURNS

Three years after becoming the first Arab woman to reach the third round at a grand slam, Jabeur went one better by booking her place in the last 16.

The Tunisian overcame eighth seed Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (9-7) 2-6 6-3 out on court 14.

Jabeur took the opener after squandering three set points on serve but lost 15 points in a row at the start of the second, admitting afterwards that keeping calm and carrying on saw her through.

"She was screaming, fighting every point... in some very important points, especially when she got back at 6-6," Jabeur said. "For me, I wanted to stay calm because I had no reason to be angry. I think that helped me a lot today."

Danielle Collins awaits in the next round for Jabeur after the unseeded American produced a shock by eliminating 11th seed and 2016 champion Garbine Muguruza.

In the final match of the day, Muguruza was unable to sustain the level she showed after fighting back from a set down, as Collins progressed 7-5 2-6 6-4 despite finding herself trailing by two breaks in the decider.

The French player was leading 5-1 and had a point for the first set against Laura Siegemund of Germany on Court Philippe-Chatrier, the tournament's main arena, when she hit a drop shot that looked set to be a winner.

A scrambling Siegemund got to the ball, but it bounced for a second time just before she scooped it over the net. Mladenovic charged forward and swatted the ball away decisively but also collided with the net in doing so.

That cost Mladenovic the point ultimately, as umpire Eva Asderaki had not spotted the double bounce and would not accept the protests of the home player who lost her focus and surrendered the match 7-5 6-3.

While Siegemund controversially reached the second round, there were also wins on day three at Roland Garros for seeds including Sofia Kenin, as well as former champion Jelena Ostapenko.

'SHE DIDN'T DO HER JOB'

Mladenovic had every right to feel aggrieved by the double-bounce incident, although losing in straight sets from such a dominant position was far from clever.

At the recent US Open, she led Russian Varvara Gracheva 6-1 5-1 in round two but also managed to lose, dropping the deciding set 6-0, and this was another grand slam let-down for the former world number 10.

Asked about the idea of video technology being introduced in Paris, Mladenovic said: "This would avoid mistakes like the one I experienced today. The error is human and it's a shame to want to replace the human being with the camera, but I don't understand how the umpire could not have seen the ball and the reactions.

"She didn't do her job. I told her to watch the replay afterwards, but that won't change anything. She [the umpire] continues at Roland Garros, not me."

Mladenovic said she had no grievance with Siegemund, and said the onus was not on the German player to hold up her hand.

"She would have been the best and most fair player on the tour if she would have done that," Mladenovic said in a news conference.

"Unfortunately, she didn't. I didn't expect her to do it. But if she would have done it, she would have all my respect and be super-fair play. But she's not the one responsible. I think the chair umpire is the one that should be really focused on that call."

Navratilova, who won two of her 18 grand slam singles titles at the French Open, took in the drama and wrote on Twitter: "That was awful- the ump who is usually great missed that one.

"And in the old days we would have called it on ourselves but these days it’s different. For sure Siegemund knew she didn’t get it on the first bounce et voila- it totally turned the match as Mladenovic knew it… shame."

OSTAPENKO NEXT FOR 'TERRIBLE' PLISKOVA

Second seed Pliskova served eight double faults and had 46 unforced errors in her 6-7 (9-11) 6-2 6-4 win over Egyptian qualifier Mayar Sherif.

She was not hiding afterwards from the fact it was a poor display, given her lofty stature in the game, but Pliskova was just glad to survive an off day.

"No matter how terrible was my level, I still somehow believed," she said.

Pliskova, who is contending with a thigh problem, faces the unseeded former champion Jelena Ostapenko next, in what is an appetising second-round clash.

Ostapenko's 2017 Roland Garros triumph came ostensibly out of the blue, given her hard-hitting but erratic game. On the weeks and fortnights when she finds her range, she can be formidable.

First-round defeats in 2018 and 2019 followed the title-winning year for Ostapenko at the French Open, but a 6-2 6-1 win over American Madison Brengle was an eye-catching result on Tuesday.

"With Jelena, we had some good matches, some strange matches," Pliskova said. "I think she's a lot up and down but for sure she can just play well."

KENIN BANISHES ROME 'DISASTER'

Sofia Kenin admitted her 'double bagel' defeat to Victoria Azarenka in Rome had been hard to swallow, so the Australian Open winner was relieved to get back to winning ways.

Kenin lost 6-0 6-0 to Azarenka less than a fortnight ago but the fourth seed at Roland Garros showed battling spirit to beat Ludmilla Samsonova 6-4 3-6 6-3 in an hour and 58 minutes of a rain-interrupted clash on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.

"After Rome, that's a match that I never want to watch," Kenin said. "Of course, Vika played really well.

"After that, we came to Paris and I had a week or so to practise, get used to the clay. I just tried to not think about that match. It was kind of a disaster."

TEENAGER TAUSON OUTLASTS BRADY

The year may be one that many would rather forget, but Jennifer Brady has had the season of her life. Her hopes of French Open success were dashed immediately, however, when the American became a first-round casualty.

Landing her first WTA Tour title in Lexington in August was followed by Brady reaching the US Open semi-finals, but the 21st seed fell to 17-year-old Danish qualifier Clara Tauson in Paris, suffering a 6-4 3-6 9-7 defeat.

Tauson later wrote on Instagram: "Young girl big dreams... toughest match of my life. See you in round [two]."

The Italian world number 44, who won February's Merida Open, outlasted the Estonian 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-4) in three hours and 32 minutes.

The length was equal to the Erika Andreeva-Harriet Dart first-round match at the ATX Open last month for the longest this WTA season.

But Giorgi could have had an earlier finish, leading 5-0 in the decider before Kanepi hit back by winning the next five games, only for the Italian to rally in the tie-break, converting her fourth match point.

Giorgi, who blew match points at 5-3 and 5-4, will take on three-time Miami Open winner and 2023 Australian Open semi-finalist Victoria Azarenka in the second round.

Russian 34-year-old Evgeniya Rodina produced the upset of the day's play, beating 37th-ranked Bernarda Pera 6-3 6-4 in 73 minutes and will take on 20th seed Magda Linette in the second round.

Rodina is currently ranked 369th in the world having returned to the WTA Tour midway through last season after a two-year absence, having reached a career-high 67th in May 2019.

World number 39 Elise Mertens eased into the second round with a 6-1 6-4 win over USA's Alycia Parks, setting up a second-round clash with eighth seed Daria Kasatkina.

World number 43 Yulia Putintseva bowed out prematurely, going down 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 to Canada's Rebecca Marino, who advanced to face sixth seed Coco Gauff.

Teenager Linda Fruhvirtova, ranked 50th in the world, also suffered a shock loss, beaten 6-2 4-6 6-4 by 172nd-ranked Canadian qualifier Katherine Sebov, while Laura Siegemund won 6-3 6-4 over 52nd-ranked Mayar Sherif

Katerina Siniakova withdrew due to injury despite winning the first set against USA's Claire Liu, with scores at 6-3 3-3. Liu's prize is a second-round meeting with top seed and reigning champion Iga Swiatek.

Neither player was particularly convincing in the early stages, with each of the first four games going against serve, but it was Krejcikova who settled quicker to take the first set 6-3.

She then brought the second set back to 5-5 after being 5-2 down, but Halep managed to see it out to level the match, before going on to seal the 3-6 7-5 6-2 win in the decider.

Top-seed Halep will face Poland's Magdalena Frech – ranked 174 in the world – in the quarter-finals after she saw off Arantxa Rus 6-3 2-6 6-4.

The day began with what turned out to be a gruelling encounter between Eugenie Bouchard and Tamara Zidansek, but the Canadian – who is attempting to climb back up the rankings after slipping to 330 – prevailed to reach her second WTA quarter-final of the year, winning 7-6 (7-2) 6-7 (2-7) 6-2 in two hours, 56 minutes.

Sara Sorribes Tormo had no such difficulty against Laura Siegemund as she emerged 6-2 6-3 victor, but she will have to wait until Friday to find out her next opponent after Irina-Camelia's meeting with Leonie Kung was suspended due to poor light.

Kung had just won the first set 7-6 (7-3).

Kvitova withdrew from the French Open after suffering a freak ankle injury during her post-match media duties at Roland Garros.

The two-time Wimbledon champion recovered to get her grass-court season under way in Germany and battled to a 4-6 6-1 6-4 over Polish outsider Piter.

A week before the third grand slam of the year gets started at the All England Club, top seed Kvitova trailed 2-0 in the final set as she struggled with her serve, but broke three times to book a second-round meeting with Ann Li.

Sloane Stephens withdrew ahead of her scheduled match with Laura Siegemund due to a foot injury. Riya Bhatia stepped in with Stephens absent, but Siegemund consigned her to a 2-6 7-6 (7-1) 6-1 defeat.

Angelique Kerber needed only 50 minutes to see the back of Ekaterina Yashina 6-1 6-1 on home soil, grasping all five break-point opportunities.

Kerber will do battle with Anna Blinkova in round two and Jessie Pegula's next assignment is an encounter with Katerina Siniakova following a 6-1 6-2 defeat of Amandine Hesse.

Blinkova beat Clara Tauson 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-2, while Sara Sorribes Tormo saw off Martina Trevisan 6-4 3-6 6-2

Miserable weather in Eastbourne prevented Karolina Pliskova, Madison Keys, Bianca Andreescu and Madison Keys from playing at the Viking International.

World number 69 Pliskova struck 28 winners to 13 unforced errors on home soil as she secured a 6-1 7-5 victory in one hour and 22 minutes.

The Czech wrapped up the opening set in just 21 minutes and Martic paid the price for passing up two opportunities to hold serve at 5-5 in the second.

Pliskova, a runner-up in Prague in 2017, made Martic pay by serving out the match and setting up a meeting with Ana Bogdan, who got a walkover after Lesia Tsurenko withdrew prior to their match.

Mertens ensured Simona Halep is not the only seed remaining in the draw by defeating Camila Giorgi 6-4 6-2, while, in matches held over from Tuesday, Laura Siegemund and Tamara Zidansek wasted little time in wrapping up three-set victories over Mayar Sherif and Katerina Siniakova respectively.

It was not a day off for Halep, though. The Romanian joined forces with Barbora Strycova for a doubles match against Veronika Kudermetova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova that ended in a 6-3 3-6 10-8 loss.

Siegemund won the first set on a tie break, but Kazakhstan representative Rybakina stormed back to win the second before winning a tense 10-8 tie break in the crucial third set, surviving a match point in the process.

The world number 25's victory sets up a second round meeting with Tereza Martincova, who overcame a poor first set to beat Harriet Dart 0-6 6-4 6-1.

At the Chennai Open, top seed Alison Riske-Amritraj was beaten in straight sets in an upset defeat to world number 147 Anastasia Gasanova.

There were no such upsets for the second and third seeds though, as Varvara Gracheva and Magda Linette both cruised to victory to clinch their safe passage to the second round.

Elsewhere, Katie Swan beat Arianne Hartono 6-1 6-2 while India's number one singles player Ankita Raina was knocked out of her home tournament by Tatjana Maria.

Brady made yet more history on Sunday, the most successful player in NFL history winning a seventh Super Bowl as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9.

The incredible Brady, 43, showed age is no barrier, throwing three touchdown passes – two of which were scored by his long-time friend Rob Gronkowski – and completing 21 of 29 throws for 201 yards.

Brady did now allow any interceptions as he picked up the MVP award at Raymond James Stadium.

Williams started her quest for a record-equalling 24th grand slam singles title with a 6-1 6-1 defeat of Laura Siegemund on Monday, then paid tribute to her fellow American Brady.

She said of his exploits: "It's unbelievable. I just was watching as much as I could to see. My only word is it's unbelievable. I kept saying: 'This is unbelievable, this is unreal'.

"You can't say it was the system he was at formerly [the New England Patriots]. It's definitely Tom Brady, he's Tom Brady. He's amazing."

Brady banished everyone from his house in the days leading up to the Super Bowl so he could fully focus on inspiring the Buccaneers to victory, but the 39-year-old Williams said she could never do the same as she would not want to be separated from her daughter, Olympia.

"I would not be able to go function without my three-year-old around," Williams said. "I think I would be in a depression.

"We've been together every day of her life, so... Is that healthy? Not at all! Not even close. But every single day I just want to be around her. It's great. Everyone's different.

"I can totally understand why he would banish because if I had the strength to do it, I would too.

"I could see it's definitely a distraction, especially every year that I've played except for the past few months, I finally am starting to get better at it. The first two and a half years was very difficult. I wasn't strong enough to do the banishment."

Williams, who will face Nina Stojanovic in the second round at Melbourne Park, was delighted with the manner in which she swept Siegemund aside and had no issues with her shoulder after withdrawing from a pre-tournament event citing an injury problem.

"This was a good start. Definitely vintage 'Rena'. It's definitely good. I think I'm pretty good at pacing myself in a grand slam," she said.

"I was happy just to get through it. Wasn't sure how my serve would be after a little bit of that shoulder, but it's feeling good, I'm feeling good. So, it felt really good.

"Last year was very crazy for the world, and to be able to do what I love and to be able to come out and compete and play at a grand slam, after the last 12 months, it makes me appreciate the moment even more."

Vekic made up for lost time on Monday following a coronavirus-enforced hiatus, thrashing Arantxa Rus 6-1 6-2 two days after qualifying in Sicily marked the official return of professional tennis.

There was only a small number of people to witness the action, players handling their own towels, no handshakes as well as a smaller team of ball kids and line officials, but Vekic clearly had no problem adapting.

The sixth seed from Croatia said in a post-match video call: "I'm definitely a little bit surprised [at the margin of her victory].

"It was very tricky conditions, it was very windy so the ball was a little bit all over the court. I'm just definitely happy that I didn't forget how to play tennis, how to play matches, how to win. It's a huge relief."

Sara Errani, Laura Siegemund, Ekaterina Alexandrova and Elisabetta Cocciaretto also made it through to the second round.

It would have been a relief for organisers to see the action get under way just a couple of days after an unnamed player tested positive for COVID-19.

Wimbledon champion Simona Halep was among a host of players to withdraw from the first tournament since March due to concerns over coronavirus.