<p>Serena Williams began her quest for a 23rd Grand Slam title in style Tuesday, overcoming the threat from Swiss star Belinda Bencic to power into the Australian Open second round.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The American great, who lost the top ranking to Angelique Kerber last year, blitzed the unseeded 19-year-old 6-4, 6-3 on Rod Laver Arena in scorching temperatures as she hunts down a seventh Melbourne Park crown.<br /><br />It sets her up for a clash with Lucie Safarova from the Czech Republic, who saved an incredible nine match points before beating Belgian Yanina Wickmayer in their first round encounter.<br /><br />"She is a great player, recently rated in the top 10, it really was one of the toughest first round matches I have ever played," Williams said of Bencic.<br /><br />"I knew I had to be strong."<br /><br />"Right now I have nothing to lose," added Williams, whose new fiance, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, was watching from the stands.<br /><br />"Every match I play is for fun. It's self-motivating. I'm just happy to be playing."<br />Williams, who lost last year's final to Kerber, came into the opening Grand Slam of the year with question marks over her form.<br /><br />She has barely played since the US Open last September due to injury, and her build-up was set back when she was bundled out of this month's Auckland Classic in the second round.<br /><br />But any doubts were quickly put to rest as she eased her way into the tournament, showing little emotion as she went about her business.<br /><br />Both players held serve at the start as they probed for weaknesses, with Williams saving two break points in the third game before recovering to keep it at level pegging.<br /><br />Bencic, a rising star whose 2016 was marred by injury, was making her work hard but it was the American who got the first break when the Swiss star looped a forehand long.<br />The advantage was short-lived, with Bencic bouncing straight back as Williams' serve let her down.<br /><br /><br /><br />Bencic, 19, is a former world number seven and has form against Williams, stunning her in the 2015 Toronto semi-finals in what remains the biggest win of her career.<br /><br />But the composed Williams slowly got on top in Melbourne, breaking again in the 10th game as Bencic sent down a string of forehand errors.<br /><br />The Swiss teen was getting frustrated, throwing her racquet to the ground as Williams broke again early in the second set.<br /><br />The 35-year-old, in a black and white outfit, was in her groove and despite being broken in the seventh game and sending down a double fault on match point, was in control and eased to the finish line in 79 minutes.<br /><br />Seeded two, Williams is attempting to break Steffi Graf's Open era-record of 22 Grand Slam singles titles, but has her work cut out if she is to go one better than the German great.<br /><br />She could encounter either in-form Briton Johanna Konta, who won the lead-up Sydney International, or sixth seed Dominika Cibulkova in the quarter-finals.<br /><br />Melbourne Park has been a happy hunting ground. She claimed her first Australian Open title way back in 2003, beating elder sister Venus in the final. </p>
<p>Serena Williams began her quest for a 23rd Grand Slam title in style Tuesday, overcoming the threat from Swiss star Belinda Bencic to power into the Australian Open second round.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The American great, who lost the top ranking to Angelique Kerber last year, blitzed the unseeded 19-year-old 6-4, 6-3 on Rod Laver Arena in scorching temperatures as she hunts down a seventh Melbourne Park crown.<br /><br />It sets her up for a clash with Lucie Safarova from the Czech Republic, who saved an incredible nine match points before beating Belgian Yanina Wickmayer in their first round encounter.<br /><br />"She is a great player, recently rated in the top 10, it really was one of the toughest first round matches I have ever played," Williams said of Bencic.<br /><br />"I knew I had to be strong."<br /><br />"Right now I have nothing to lose," added Williams, whose new fiance, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, was watching from the stands.<br /><br />"Every match I play is for fun. It's self-motivating. I'm just happy to be playing."<br />Williams, who lost last year's final to Kerber, came into the opening Grand Slam of the year with question marks over her form.<br /><br />She has barely played since the US Open last September due to injury, and her build-up was set back when she was bundled out of this month's Auckland Classic in the second round.<br /><br />But any doubts were quickly put to rest as she eased her way into the tournament, showing little emotion as she went about her business.<br /><br />Both players held serve at the start as they probed for weaknesses, with Williams saving two break points in the third game before recovering to keep it at level pegging.<br /><br />Bencic, a rising star whose 2016 was marred by injury, was making her work hard but it was the American who got the first break when the Swiss star looped a forehand long.<br />The advantage was short-lived, with Bencic bouncing straight back as Williams' serve let her down.<br /><br /><br /><br />Bencic, 19, is a former world number seven and has form against Williams, stunning her in the 2015 Toronto semi-finals in what remains the biggest win of her career.<br /><br />But the composed Williams slowly got on top in Melbourne, breaking again in the 10th game as Bencic sent down a string of forehand errors.<br /><br />The Swiss teen was getting frustrated, throwing her racquet to the ground as Williams broke again early in the second set.<br /><br />The 35-year-old, in a black and white outfit, was in her groove and despite being broken in the seventh game and sending down a double fault on match point, was in control and eased to the finish line in 79 minutes.<br /><br />Seeded two, Williams is attempting to break Steffi Graf's Open era-record of 22 Grand Slam singles titles, but has her work cut out if she is to go one better than the German great.<br /><br />She could encounter either in-form Briton Johanna Konta, who won the lead-up Sydney International, or sixth seed Dominika Cibulkova in the quarter-finals.<br /><br />Melbourne Park has been a happy hunting ground. She claimed her first Australian Open title way back in 2003, beating elder sister Venus in the final. </p>