Tennis-Barty bounces out Hercog to reach third round in Melbourne

World number one Ash Barty eased into the third round of the Australian Open with a 6-1 6-4 win over Polona Hercog on a blustery Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday. The Australian had given her compatriots a scare by losing her first set of the tournament on Monday but there were no such nerves on the main showcourt on day three of the championships as Barty raced through the first set in 24 minutes.

Hercog caused the French Open champion a few problems on her serve with her rangy returns but Barty saved all six break points she faced and sealed the win when the Slovenian was unable to keep a backhand return in the court. The top seed will play Belgian qualifier Greet Minnen or Kazakh Elena Rybakina in the third round as she looks to stay on course to become the first homegrown champion at the Australian Open since 1978.

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