Johanna Konta: I’m from Eastbourne and I’m proud of it

Kasatkina, meanwhile, struggled. All five of her double-faults pushed Williams towards breaks, and the world No. 1 made the court as large as possible to keep her opponent off balance throughout.

The six-time and defending champion beat No. 90th-ranked Hsieh Su-wei 6-1, 6-2 on Wednesday at Rod Laver Arena, a record 79th main draw match at the Australian Open.

Federer advanced with a straight-sets win over Alexandr Dolgopolov to extend his streak to 17 years of reaching the third round or better at Melbourne Park.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – Serena Williams’ latest on-court fashion statement is an attempt to “push the envelope” with a nod to classic tennis style.

They were joined in the third round by another Russian, last year’s losing finalist Maria Sharapova. “I want to know if you ever saw it again or you didn’t want to see it or you saw it?”

“But that’s normal and I’m going to encounter that every single time I play”.

“All I can say is that I have definitely gained more experience because of the situations I have been in since”, she said.

Serena said she will ask Venus for information on Kasatkina ahead of their third round on Friday.

Williams took exactly one hour to wrap up the match against the world No. 90 6-1 6-2.

Venus Williams has been fined $5,000 USA dollars (£3,500) for shirking post-match press duties following her Australian Open first-round defeat to Britain’s Johanna Konta.

She now plays France’s Kristina Mladenovic tomorrow for a place in the fourth round. “I’m often never seen without one”, Williams said.

This was only the third time in her 14 grand slam matches that Konta has been the expected victor based on rankings, with the other two occasions coming in the less pressured first rounds, but she showed few signs of the nerves that once crippled her at the top level.

“I hope to encounter that every time I play because it means there’s a lot of enjoyment there and good competitiveness”.

“I think I played well today, ” she said. “I had to serve well and as the match went on I started to feel better and better”.

Zheng wasn’t without her chances, but failed to convert three break-point chances in the first set. “Especially when it’s in the hand and wrist area, it’s in the back of your mind even though you’re feeling it. I felt really good and confident today about it”.

Taking on Daria Kasatkina, an 18-year-old Russian on the rise, the No.1-seeded Williams was nearly flawless from start to finish, hitting more than triple the winners to unforced errors, 27 to 8, en route to a 6-1, 6-1 victory.

Long touted for big things, 12th seed Bencic was the first player into the round of 16 after fighting back from a set down to overhaul Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko 4-6 6-2 6-4 in the earlier match at Rod Laver Arena.