Serena Williams and Samantha Stosur Enjoy Easy Wins in WTA Brisbane First Round

Serena Williams and Samantha Stosur both advanced to the second round of WTA Brisbane 2012 on Monday.

Williams advanced at the expense of Chanelle Scheepers while Stosur eliminated Anastasiya Yakimova. Neither match was close, both victories were in straight sets without a tiebreaker being played.

Next up for Williams is a match against Serbia's Bojana Jovanovski, a player who turned 20 years old a few days ago and who will be looking to make her mark in 2012. Jovanovski is ranked just 76th in the world at the moment and is unlikely to eliminate her second round opponent in Brisbane.

Stosur will face veteran Iveta Benesova in round two, a player who is ranked 54th in the world and isn't much of a threat to Stosur. Benesova faced a challenge in the first round but was able to overcome Lucie Safarova in a three-set match.

Other seeded players that advanced on Monday were No. 6 Jelena Jankovic, No. 7 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and No. 2 Andrea Petkovic.

While the second round from Brisbane does not feature many blockbuster matches, the quarterfinals could feature the following showdowns:

Stosur vs. Kim Clijsters

Jankovic vs. Francesca Schiavone

Pavlyuchenkova vs. Petkovic

Additionally, there is potential for a semifinal match between Williams and Clijsters or Stosur, scenarios that will draw the attention of tennis fans looking to gain some insight into who is the favorite to win the 2012 Australian Open, an event that starts later this month.