Serena Williams tops teenager Potapova for 350th Grand Slam match win

It wasn't quite the age disparity of Venus Williams' Monday match with Coco Gauff, but Serena Williams' first-round opponent at the Australian Open was still 20 years her junior. Like Gauff, it was an already accomplished opponent: 18-year-old Anastasia Potapova, another junior Grand Slam champion (she beat Dayana Yastremska in the 2016 Wimbledon final), and a player who came into this match with absolutely nothing to lose. While Serena's aura has unquestionably waned over the past two years, her immense advantage in experience was always going to be a challenge for Potapova to overcome.

Would this match, however, follow the script of the first Venus. vs. Coco clash, at Wimbledon last summer, in which Gauff, before worldwide attention was cast on her, prevailed in straight sets?

This match was over in straights, yes, but in this case, it was Williams who came out on top, 6-0, 6-3. And speaking of experience, it was her 350th match win at a major.

"I started out well today—and ended well," Williams said. "She really fought well."

Williams was being, well, pretty kind to Potapova, who she met in the locker room beforehand and found to be a good hang. On the court, though, Serena was quite ruthless, winning the first seven games with vintage ease. When Potapova got on the board trailing 6-0, 1-0, she ran off two games, with Williams double-faulting twice to surrender her only break on the day.

But prosperity, however minor, was too much for Potapova to handle. Going for too much, she bled errors. But when she played it safe, gave Williams all the opening she needed. Williams struck 24 winners over the match's 58 lopsided minutes, against 16 errors.

For Williams, this was an encouraging follow-up to her Auckland title run that opened the season. She donated her entire winnings from the event to the Australian wildfire fundraising effort.

"It's important for people like me, who have a big platform, to raise awareness," Williams said. "I love coming here."

And, in case you weren't already aware, she loves winning here, too.