Serena Williams begins Australian Open campaign with a bang

American tennis ace Serena Williams started her campaign at the ongoing Australian Open with a thumping win over Germany's Tatjana Maria here at the Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday.

The 37-year-old thrashed her German counterpart 6-0, 6-2 in a one-sided clash that lasted 49 minutes.

Showing some blistering skills on the court, the former world number one dropped just five points to start the first set. Smashing nine winning points, she registered a comfortable victory in the first set without dropping a game.

Maria worked hard on the court but did not manage to break the Williams court. The German fancied her chances when she earned two points in the second set with the help of smashing aces.

Williams, however, gave no further chances of recovery to Maria and crossed the finishing line with one last break of serve. She ended the match with 22 winning points and 11 unforced errors.

In other matches of the day, world number four Naomi Osaka will kick-start her campaign in the tournament against Magda Linette of Poland.

In men's singles event, world number one Novak Djokovic will be up against Mitchell Krueger of America in his opening clash of the Australian Open.