Ashleigh Barty breezes into Australian Open third round 

Ashleigh Barty needed just 52 minutes to take down Italian qualifier Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 6-1 on Wednesday and take her spot in the Australian Open third round. The World No. 1 has been in untouchable form at her home Grand Slam event, dropping just three games across both of her matches in Melbourne.

Barty has made the perfect start in her quest to end Australia’s 44-year title drought and become the first homegrown champion since Chris O’Neil. She was rarely in trouble against Bronzetti, hitting 21 winners and eight aces en route to victory.

Bronzetti, who qualified for her first Grand Slam main draw, just couldn’t keep up with Barty’s fire power as she quickly found herself down 4-0. She was broken three more times as Barty reeled off six games in a row in the second set to close out the victory.

Afterwards, Barty took a moment to salute fellow Indigenous tennis champion Evonne Goolagong Cawley during her on-court interview.

INTERVIEW: Ashleigh Barty speaks to Casey Dellacqua following her 2022 Australian Open second-round win.

"The universe has worked in a way that we're so connected. We've got some special anniversaries that we share together, obviously we're connected through our heritage,” Barty told Casey Dellacqua.

"She's an incredible woman and she's been able to guide so many of the Indigenous youth coming up.”

Big-hitting No. 30 seed Camila Giorgi is next for Barty, after the Italian completed a 6-2, 7-6(2) win over Tereza Martincova to reach the third round.

Barty’s clinical performance followed No. 8 seed Paula Badosa’s own emphatic second-round win on Rod Laver Arena. The Spaniard had never been past the second round in Melbourne, but she has maintained confidence and momentum after winning the title in Sydney last week.

Badosa extended her winning streak to seven matches after taking down Italian qualifier Martina Trevisan 6-0, 6-3 in an hour and 11 minutes.

“I'm really proud of myself. After all, one year ago I was locked in a room,” Badosa said, referencing her experience in hotel quarantine. “So being here and playing center court, because of me—not because I'm playing a seeded player, because now I'm the seeded player. I'm really happy and proud of myself.”

The Spaniard will next face Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the third round.