Sixth seed Pliskova glides through at Australian Open

The tattooed sixth seed Czech sped past Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-1, 6-1 within 44 minutes to cruise to the third round.

Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic makes a forehand return to Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne | Photo: AP

MELBOURNE: Karolina Pliskova wasted little time in getting out of the heat and back to the sanctuary of the locker room with a 44-minute Australian Open cruise on Thursday

The tattooed sixth seed sped past Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-1, 6-1 as the mercury nudged towards a sweltering 39 Celsius (102 Farenheit) at Melbourne Park.

The Czech's serene progress will mark her out as one of the favourites to win a first Grand Slam on a day when the draw lost number three seed Garbine Muguruza and number nine Johanna Konta.

Pliskova next faces fellow Czech and 29th seed Lucie Safarova, who also enjoyed a straightforward passage to the third round, 6-2, 6-4 against Sorana Cirstea of Romania.