• Australian Open, Day Four

Ana Ivanovic melts in the heat as Serena marches on

Ana Ivanovic shows her disappointment © Getty Images

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Former world No.1 Ana Ivanovic tumbled out of the Australian Open at the hands of Argentine Gisela Dulko in searing conditions on Thursday. The 2008 finalist was let down by a wayward serve in a 6-7 7-5 6-4 loss that was riddled with errors by both players.

Serena Williams continues to look the one to beat, as she made short work of Petra Kvitova. The world No.1 barely needed to engage second gear as she raced to a 6-2 6-1 success. The first real test for the defending champion may come in round three as she will lock horns with No.32 seed Carla Suarez Navarro.

Ivanovic's exit was the undoubted talking point of the day though, the Serb failing to progress to the third round for the sixth time in her last seven tournaments. However, despite an error-strewn display she insisted: "I am striking the ball better than ever, but there are still some areas that are not there for me to rely on in moments I need them the most.

"[The serve] was one of the problems, for sure," Ivanovic said afterwards. "There are things I'm working on. [The] serve is a big part of that progress. I feel it's been going well at times, but it's just not consistent like I would like it to be. It just might just take some time, and I have to accept that, although it's hard."

Dulko's reward for beating Ivanovic is another testing encounter, this time against 9th seed Vera Zvonareva. Big-hitting Russian Zvonareva comfortably defeated the Czech Republic's Iveta Benesova 6-0 6-3 in order to advance.

Venus Williams made her way into the third round with a comfortable 6-2 7-5 victory over Austria's Sybille Bammer. The sixth seed raced through the first set but was forced to knuckle down in the second as Bammer forged 2-0 ahead. The American regained her composure and closed out the match when her Austrian opponent drove a forehand long.

Caroline Wozniacki proved too strong for Julia Goerges © Getty Images

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Caroline Wozniacki headed the list of seeded women who were able to safely navigate the Melbourne heat, the world No.4 seeing off Germany's Julia Goerges 6-3 6-1. Wozniacki will meet Shahar Peer in the third round.

Sixteenth seed Na Li from China fought back from a set down to claim a 3-6 7-5 6-2 win over Hungarian Agnes Szavay, while seventh seed Victoria Azarenka saw off the challenge of Stefanie Voegele 6-4 6-0 to line up Italy's Tathiana Garbin as her next obstacle.

Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova claimed a 6-4 6-1 win over Sofia Arvidsson, while world No. 10 Agnieszka Radwanska dropped just two games on her way to a 6-0 6-2 win over Alla Kudryavtseva. Hantuchova is now set up for a meeting with Li while Radwanska advances to a clash with Francesca Schiavone.

The award for most popular victory of day four in the women's draw arguably went to local girl Samantha Stosur, who gritted her teeth to battle past Germany's Kristina Barrois 7-5 6-3. Stosur now faces 21st seed Alberta Brianti for a place in round four.

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