Sizzling Serena Williams comes back with bang at Australian Open

Serena Williams dismissed any doubts about her form on Tuesday as she swept into the Australian Open second round on her return to grand slam action.

The American, with a record 23rd major title in her sights and watched by her new fiance, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, thumped dangerous Swiss teen Belinda Bencic 6-4, 6-3.

Williams has barely played since her shock defeat in the US Open semi-finals in September and she made 88 unforced errors in her second-round loss to Madison Brengle at this month’s Auckland Classic.

But she came through a tight first set against Bencic before dominating the second set in what turned out to be a convincing victory on the centre court.

“It was one of the toughest first-round matches I’ve ever played,” said Williams, who had a 1-1 head-to-head with Bencic, 19, before Tuesday’s encounter.