Relieved Sabalenka defies serve struggles to stay alive in Melbourne

Melbourne: Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka battled through serving woes Wednesday to make the Australian Open third round, admitting she was reliev...

Melbourne: Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka battled through serving woes Wednesday to make the Australian Open third round, admitting she was relieved to get a tricky match done in straight sets.

The world number one dropped serve three times and faced 11 break points before overcoming Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro on Rod Laver Arena 6-3, 7-5, rattling off the last five games in a row.

It was a 16th consecutive victory on Melbourne's centre court for Sabalenka, who is looking to win the first Grand Slam of the year for a third time in a row.

Next up is Denmark's 42nd-ranked Clara Tauson, who faces a daunting task given the 26-year-old Belarusian's record on the blue hardcourts.

"She played incredible tennis today and it was a really tough one. I expected this tennis from her, I'm really glad I was able to win this match," said Sabalenka.