Angelique Kerber too strong for Lucie Hradecka

Angelique Kerber showed her ruthless streak to thrash Lucie Hradecka and claim a comfortable second-round victory at the Australian Open earlier today.

The fifth seed didn't have things all her own way in the early going but found her stride to make the breakthrough late in the first set.

Hradecka showed some fight to stay alive on serve more than once but eventually dropped the opener by six games to three.

Kerber upped the intensity in the second set and blew Hradecka away with a series of clinical winners and powerful returns.

The German contender dropped just three games on her way to an impressive 6-3 6-1 win, which secures a third-round match against either Madison Keys or Tamira Paszek on Friday.