Serena Williams edges past Monica Niculescu at Indian Wells

World number one Serena Williams has booked her place in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells with a straight-sets victory over Monica Niculescu.

The first set was a tight affair as the Romanian managed to battle with the 19-time Grand Slam winner, matching her opponent stroke for stroke until Williams finally got the break just before a potential tie-breaker to take the set 7-5.

The 27-year-old battled hard again in the second set, but the quality of Williams came through as she dominated on her first serve to edge herself towards a winning position, before earning a crucial break to clinch the match in just over two hours.

Williams will now play number 28 seed Zarina Diyas in the third round of the competition.