Australian Open
Serena takes no prisoners on way to 24th Grand Slam title
Spain’s Garbine Muguruza and Britain’s Johanna Konta did not get on court until half-past midnight — the latest start to a match in the event’s history
Serena Williams stepped up her drive for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title on Thursday by swatting aside Eugenie Bouchard, as world No 1 Novak Djokovic won an emotional 2008 Australian Open final rematch against Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. But women’s top seed Simona Halep and young gun Alexander Zverev had to dig deep to get into the third round on a day of epic battles. US great Williams followed up her first round 49min romp by spending just 70 min on Rod Laver Arena to dispose of the Canadian 6-2 6-2. “It wasn’t an easy match tonight,” said the 37-year-old, seeded just 16. “So I knew ‘Serena, you’ve got to come out hot, you’ve got to come out firing, she’s a really good player and I haven’t had many matches since last year’.” Williams is bidding to match Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam crowns, and win an eighth in Australia, on her first return to Melbourne Park since lifting the trophy in 2017 while pregnant. Serbian top seed Djokovic is also looking to make h...
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