Kerber advances to 3rd round bout with Sharapova

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) Former champion Angelique Kerber celebrated her 30th birthday with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Donna Vekic to advance to the third round of the Australian Open and a match against Maria Sharapova.

It was Kerber's 11th win in a row to start the season.

Kerber, the 2016 champion at Melbourne Park, won four singles matches at the Hopman Cup and five more while winning last week's Sydney International. She beat fellow German Anna-Lena Friedsam in the first round here.