Ashleigh Barty marked the Australian Open's inaugural First Nations Peoples Day by cruising into the third round on Wednesday as the tournament top seed continues to highlight her title credentials.
Top seed Barty was far too strong for Lucia Bronzetti on Rod Laver Arena, defeating the Italian qualifier 6-1, 6-1 in well under an hour. She dropped just one game more than her opening round destruction of Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko.
A proud indigenous Australian, Barty followed in the footsteps of trailblazer Evonne Goolagong Cawley by winning Wimbledon last year.
Barty spoke glowingly of Goolagong Cawley's influence on young indigenous athletes and said she was glad she was able to play a match on "a really special day for our culture and our heritage".
"It was nice for me to be a part of it in a way that I feel most comfortable, I suppose," the world No 1 said. "Out on the tennis court is how I express myself as an athlete, it's how I'm able to express myself as a person as well.
"On a day we're bringing cultures together, it was really nice for me to go out and enjoy that. Just met a few of the kids that have come down from Alice Springs and all around Australia, which is amazing for them."
Earlier on court, Barty hammered 11 winners to wrap up the first set in 25 minutes and was equally dominant in the second
Bronzetti, the world No 142, failed to muster a single break point over the contest as Barty lobbed, sliced and pounded her into submission in the bright Melbourne sunshine.
Barty, 25, is hoping to end Australia's 44-year wait for a homegrown women's champion and was particularly delighted at the turnout for her match so early in the day.
"It was incredible," she said. "It was an awesome surprise to go out there and hear so many Aussies. It was an incredible atmosphere. It was just a lot of fun out there today."
The top seed next faces another Italian in Camila Giorgi with defending champion Naomi Osaka potentially waiting in the fourth round.
Two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka was almost as emphatic in her second round victory, dominating Switzerland's Jil Teichmann 6-1, 6-2 at the Kia Arena.
The Belarusian former world No 1 will take on Elina Svitolina in the third round after the Ukrainian 15th seed progressed when France's Harmony Tan retired toward the end of the third set, with the match at 6-3, 5-7, 5-1 in Svitolina's favour.
American Madison Keys is also safely through to the third round after a 6-2, 7-5 win over Romania's Jaqueline Adina Cristian.
Keys, a former world No 7 and US Open finalist, has seen her ranking slip to 51 after a year beset by injury, but she is rediscovering her form having won a title in Adelaide in the lead-up to the Australian Open, before eliminating 11th seed Sofia Kenin in the first round.
