Sam Stosur has said she cannot wait to renew hostilities with defending champion Serena Williams when they meet in the last 16 of the Australian Open.

Big-hitter Williams, an 11-time Grand Slam champion, made sure of her progress by completing a 6-0 6-3 victory over Carla Suarez-Navarro.

Stosur, the 13th seed at Melbourne Park, opened play on Rod Laver Arena with a 6-4 6-1 triumph against Alberta Brianti of Italy.

The pair’s last meeting, on the Stanford hard courts in 2009, in which Australian number one Stosur prevailed 6-2 3-6 6-2, ended in controversy when Williams suggested her opponent was a good “framer”, implying many of her winning shots were miss hits.

Stosur said she was looking forward to challenge of facing the formidable American to prove she can mix it with the elite of women’s tennis.

“I’m looking forward to it,” said Stosur. “I’ve lived up to my expectation and I’ve got to where I should have got to.

“Playing the number one player in the world, defending champion, I can go out there and really enjoy it.”