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 Playing a record 80th main draw match at Melbourne Park against an
18-year-old on her first trip Down Under, the American champion was
merciless under the lights of Rod Laver Arena, blasting 24 winners
and winning all 10 points coming into the net.
"I definitely think I played better today," Williams told reporters
of her 44-minute victory. "Everything I've been trying to work on
was kind of clicking.
"I thought I played pretty well in the other matches. My first match
I thought I gave a great effort," she added of her first round
victory over Italy's Camila Giorgi.
"My second match (against Hseih Su-Wei) I thought, under the
circumstances, I thought I played well.
"Hopefully with each match I can just do better."
Kasatkina raised rambunctious cheers from sympathetic fans in the
terraces when she prised a game in each set but Williams finished
full of running, closing out the match when her frazzled opponent
pushed a forehand wide.
Williams had a lengthy chat with the Russian after the match, though
refused to go into specifics afterwards, merely outlining her
admiration for the teenager.
"I think she's a good player and I thought she had a really good
game (but) it was kind of between us," Williams said.
Williams, bidding for seventh title at Melbourne Park and a 22nd
grand slam trophy, faces another unseeded Russian in Margarita
Gasparyan in the next round.
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"She has a great forehand up the line. She has a good serve. She
mixes up the ball well," Williams said recalling her victory over
the Russian at Wimbledon last year.
"I think she qualified at Wimbledon so she's obviously made leaps
and bounds since then, gained a lot of confidence.
"She's here to play well and win.
"So am I."
(Reporting by Ian Ransom and Greg Stutchbury; Editing by Amlan
Chakraborty and Pritha Sarkar)
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