<img title="Angelique Kerber" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2017/jan/17-kerber-ausopn.jpg" alt="Angelique Kerber" /> Angelique Kerber
Melbourne: World No. 1 Angelique Kerber battled past Lesia Tsurenko in a stuttering start to her first Grand Slam title defence at the Australian Open yesterday.
The top seed ultimately proved too much for the Ukrainian, winning 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena and but the German's laboured victory was far from impressive. Kerber, 28, stunned Serena Williams in the final last year and went on to win the US Open, dethroning the American powerhouse as the world's top ranked player.
"The first round is always tough. I'm just trying to enjoy it and I'm so happy to be in the second round," Kerber said. "I'm really happy to be back in Melbourne because everything started for me here in 2016," Kerber added.
Canadian Eugenie Bouchard continued her promising start to the season with a first-round rout, saying she has rediscovered her motivation. The 22-year-old, on the comeback trail after her high-flying career plunged into a tailspin, raced past American Louisa Chirico 6-0, 6-4 to set up a clash with China's Peng Shuai. Now 49 in the world, she reached the semi-final at the Sydney International.

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World No. 1 Angelique Kerber battled past Lesia Tsurenko in a stuttering start to her first Grand Slam title defence at the Australian Open yesterday

Australian Open: Angelique Kerber survives Tsurenko scare

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Australian Open: Angelique Kerber survives Tsurenko scare

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