Auckland Open: Serena Williams kicks off her campaign with a bang

American tennis star Serena Williams kicked off her 2020 year on a winning note as she swept aside Camila Giorgi of Italy in straight sets in the opening round of the ASB Classic in Auckland on Tuesday. 

The top-seeded star was dominant throughout her clash as she eased past her tricky Italian opponent 6-3, 6-2 in a one-sided clash of the women's singles event that lasted just a little over an hour. 

By clinching a victory in her first match since last year’s US Open, Williams has now extended her head-to-head record against Giorgi to 5-0. 

Reflecting on her clash, the former world number one said that it was a solid match as she served pretty well considering the conditions. 

“I thought it was solid, technically my second match of the year. Spent a long time off from tournament play, match play, so solid is pretty good. It’s a great start to build on," the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) official website quoted Williams as saying.

It was Williams' second win of the new year. On Monday, Williams joined forces with Danish player Caroline Wozniacki to brush aside the Japanese duo of Nao Hibino and Makoto Ninomiya in the last-32 clash of the women's doubles event. 

“I definitely think the doubles helped me a lot, especially with my serve. I served pretty decent, considering the conditions. So it’s really been helpful," the top-seeded added. 

Williams will next lock horns with fellow countrywoman Christina McHale in the round-of-16 of the women's singles event of the tournament. 

The ASB Classic is serving as the warm-up to the Australian Open, where Williams will seek to win the title in order to tie Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 Grand Slam titles.