Serena Williams vs. Nicole Gibbs: Score and Reaction from 2017 Australian Open

Serena Williams' quest for Grand Slam No. 23 took another step in the right direction Saturday afternoon when she dispatched the unseeded Nicole Gibbs 6-1, 6-3 in third-round play at the Australian Open. 

The second-seeded Williams is now 2-0 against Gibbs in career meetings and has won all six sets she's played so far in Melbourne. 

Matched up against the heavily favored Williams, Gibbs came out swinging and took chances as she attempted to apply pressure with powerful crosscourt forehands.

That strategy, however, shouldn't have come as a surprise, since she acknowledged she didn't have much to lose, according to the New York Times' Ben Rothenberg: 

Gibbs did her best to fight fire with fire, but Williams' power proved to be overwhelming before long. The 22-time major champion flashed tremendous force from the baseline, and her ability to overwhelm Gibbs allowed her to secure two break points in the first set.

Serena was also sensational on serve. 

During her swift 6-1 first-set victory, Williams won 79 percent of her first-serve points. Combine that total with a 58 percent rate of victory on receiving points in the opening frame and there was no stopping her. 

Serena kept her foot on the gas in the second set, which meant the two-time NCAA singles champion was left to grasp at straws as the match slipped away. 

All told, Williams won 83 percent of her points on first serve and mixed in a robust 12-of-13 mark on net points to keep Gibbs off balance during a dominant outing, as Sporting News' Jesse Spector noted: 

With a spot in the round of 16 locked up, Serena will now prepare for a quarterfinal showdown against No. 16 Barbora Strycova. 

Serena is 2-0 all-time against Strycova, with both wins coming at majors five years ago. Specifically, she pulled out a 6-0, 6-4 win at the Australian Open and a 6-2, 6-4 victory at Wimbledon. 

Assuming Williams can stay the course in pursuit of her record-setting 23rd Slam, she will meet the winner of Ekaterina Makarova's quarterfinal clash with either Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki or Great Britain's Johanna Konta. 

Post-Match Reaction

The tournament's official Twitter account relayed video of Williams' on-court interview after her easy win: 

Rankings and matchup history courtesy of WTATennis.com. Stats retrieved from AusOpen.com.