TENNIS: Birthday girl Kerber unwraps perfect present

Angelique Kerber of Germany returns the ball against Jelena Jankovic of Serbia during their final match at the WTA Hong Kong Open tennis tournament in Hong Kong, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2015. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

World number one Angelique Kerber gave herself the perfect birthday gift on Wednesday by reaching the Australian Open third round, but she had to work hard against fellow German Carina Witthoeft.

The defending champion, who turned 29, battled through 6-2, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2 and will next face Czech Kristyna Pliskova, the twin sister of fifth seed Karolina Pliskova.

The prospects looked bleak for the unseeded Witthoeft, who has twice lost to Kerber at Wimbledon including an embarrassing 6-0, 6-0 ‘double bagel’ in 2015. Witthoeft has never beaten a top 10 opponent but she showed far more fight than at the All England Club, with Kerber taken to three sets for the second match in a row.