22 January,2009 12:22 PM IST | | AFP
A merciless Rafal Nadal barged into the Australian Open third round today, but patchy three-time champion Serena Williams was put through her paces.
In hot and blustery conditions, the Spanish World No 1 crushed Roko Karanusic of Croatia 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 to stay on track for his first hardcourt Grand Slam title.
In contrast, Williams needed to mount a second set recovery after Gisela Dulko took a 5-2 lead. The American finally woke up to reel off five games in a row and tame the Argentine 6-3, 7-5.
Nadal wrapped it his one-sided match in 97 minutes to set up a clash with 79th-ranked German Tommy Haas.
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"He played aggressively, it's not easy to play against someone who plays inside the court and hits big shots with the forehand," Nadal said.
"But I feel very comfortable here and I'm very happy with the victory."
Williams acknowledged her performance had been good, rating it a D minus.
"Today I was at like a D minus at best," she said.
"But it's good that I was able to win, too, when I wasn't playing my best. I definitely will try to do better.
"She had some opportunities but I never felt like I was going to lose."
She joins top seed Jelena Jankovic, third seed Dinara Safina and fifth seed Ana Ivanovic in the third round after they all assured their berths on Wednesday. Sister Venus plays later today.
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