Serena Williams vs katerima bondarenko . Order of play. 16 march 2016

Serena Williams vs katerima bondarenko

Head-to-head: Williams leads 2-0

Key Stat: Williams' last loss to a player outside the Top 50 was in 2014 (Charleston, Cepelova).

World No.1 Serena Wiliams showed signs of nerves and rust early in her third round match with Yulia putintseva, but by the time it was over she looked like a player who was dead set on winning this title for the first time in 15 years. Still, Williams would like to rid herself of the slow starts that have created problems for her over the last few years. "I know last year I had a lot of slow starts, but I feel like I have done better this year," Williams told the media on Sunday. "I had a slow start in this one, too, but it's getting better. It just goes to show there is always something I can improve on. I'm always looking to improve on things." On Tuesday she'll look to improve her career record at Indian Wells to 21-1 when she meets qualifier katerima bondarenko. The Ukranian reached the round of 16 for the first time at Indian Wells by surviving a third set tie-break with lesia tsurenko. Williams has won their two previous meetings, both in straight sets.