Fifth seed Angelique Kerber has secured her spot in the next round of the Australian Open with victory over Elina Svitolina.
The German, who has never been beyond the third round in Melbourne, dominated with her serve in the first set, closing it out 6-2.
However, the Ukrainian responded excellently and broke Kerber at the first time of asking for an early lead in the second set.
The 18-year-old was giving as good as she got in the baseline battle but could not maintain momentum.
Kerber had turned the set in her favour to see her serving for the match at 5-4.
She carved out two match points and needed both, as a wayward Svitolina backhand dropped out to seal her passage into the second round.
Written by
Michael Penkman
Michael Penkman
