Stosur sent packing by Britain’s Watson

Watson, who came into the match with a 0-2 head-to-head record against the Aussie – losing in Montreal last year and Hong Kong in 2015 – ran away to a 6-3 3-6 6-0 victory in two hours and 15 minutes at Margaret Court Arena. The defeat takes Stosur's losing streak to nine; she hasn't won since beating Camila Giorgi in the first round of the US Open in August. “Just really pleased with how I stuck it out and fought for every point," Watson said. 

Despite saying the unfamiliarity of the Margaret Court Arena surroundings did not affect her, from 2-0 up the 18th seed dropped five consecutive games as she struggled with her timing and range. Watson came into the contest with a simple approach; make a lot of balls, keep them deep, and wait for Stosur to err. She executed perfectly. 

Throughout the match she also had success going hard and flat crosscourt into Stosur's forehand. The Aussie, who has built a career on moving laterally left around her backhand to hit potent forehands, struggles to control the shot when forced to run the other way. 

Serena Williams launched her bid for a 23rd Grand Slam title with a 6-4 6-3 win over Belinda Bencic, swatting aside doubts over her fitness and motivation on a sweltering day at Melbourne Park. 

The 35-year-old American came into the tie with two matches under her belt since the U.S. Open last September but moved superbly under a hot sun at Rod Laver Arena to rout the Swiss talent in 79 minutes. Kept honest for most of the first set, Williams ramped up the pressure at 4-4 to win seven straight games. Williams wobbled with a double-fault on match point but smashed a volley on her second to close it out and set up a second round clash against Czech Lucie Safarova.