Defending Australian Open champion Serena Williams cruised through to the third round of the tournament with a 6-3, 6-1 win over China's Yuan Meng here on Thursday.

The 21-year-old Yuan, who went through three qualifying rounds to reach the main draw, broke Williams twice during the first set and made Williams work for several points.

But the more experienced Williams proved too strong for Yuan as the American broke again in the eighth game and finished opening set at 6-3.

The seventh seeded Williams cruised through the second set 6-1 to set up a meeting with Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, the 26th seed of the tournament.

Williams, who is aiming for her ninth grand slam singles title, said it was a satisfying win.

"I felt like I got a lot of ground strokes in, and I was able to get a lot of balls in play. I felt like a played better ground stroke-wise than I did in my first match," said Williams.