Serena Williams eases into third round of French Open

Image Credits: Twitter/@AustralianOpen

American tennis ace Serena Williams booked her place in the third round of the ongoing French Open after easing past Japanese qualifier Kurumi Nara in straight sets on Thursday. 

The 10th seeded hardly broke a sweat throughout the match to seal a comfortable 6-3, 6-2 win over Nara in a one-sided second round clash of the women's singles event that lasted one hour and seven minutes at Roland Garros. 

Williams smashed eight aces and notched up a total of 34 winners to 21 unforced errors in contrast to her Japanese opponent's four unforced errors and 11 winners during the clash, the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) reported. 

Following the defeat, Nara said that though she had knocked out of the second major of the season, she was happy to play against "best player" Williams on the center court.

"She's best player, for me.Today I lost, but I'm very happy to play with Serena on center court. It's very special for me," the 27-year-old Japanese qualifier said following the match. 

Serena will now lock horns with rising compatriot Sofia Kenin in an all-American third round of the women's singles event on Saturday. 

Notably, Kenin got a walkover into the round-of-32 of the French Open after Bianca Andreescu of Canada withdrew from their last-64 clash due to a right shoulder injury earlier on Thursday.