Serena Williams starts slow but reaches 4th round at Australian Open

Melbourne: A frustrated Serena Williams was a picture of torment for a set and a half before she found her range to fend off Elina Svitolina 4-6 6-2 6-0 and reach the fourth round of the Australian Open on Saturday.

The top seed entered Rod Laver Arena with a frown and grumbled as she miscued groundstrokes and had little penetration on her first serve against the 26th-seeded Ukrainian.

However, she dug herself out of the hole and sealed the match in 99 minutes with a searing cross-court return.

The American will next play Garbine Muguruza for a place in the quarter-finals.