Dubai-bound Venus Williams stormed into the second round of the Qatar Total Open beating Croatian Petra Martic 6-2 6-2 in straight sets on Monday.

Williams, who has been struggling with her form lately, raced into a 4-0 in the first set before Martic forced her way to 15-40 and managed to secure a break of serve to get her name on the score board. 

That would be the only time the former world number one would have her serve broken as she eased through to the second round. 

Williams will now face a much sterner test when she plays No. 3 seed Petra Kvitova, who was handed a bye in the first round. 

The pair have only played each other on three occasions, with Kvitova holding a winning record of  2-1, though each time they have met a deciding set has been needed. 

It has been a strange start to the year for Williams, reaching the final in Auckland before crashing out of the Australia Open in the first round. 

The 33-year old is hoping to discover her best form at the Qatar Open this week before heading to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships later this month after receiving a wild card entry into the tournament.

Williams won the tournament back in 2010 and will need to be on top form once again for the star studded competition in Dubai which features Ana Ivanovic, Caroline Wozniacki and world number three Agnieszka Radwanska.

Having been at the top of the game for more than fifteen years, Williams still insisted after her victory in Doha that she has no plans to walk away from the sport. 

"I love tennis and I’m still young. You cannot do it forever, so while I can, I’m going to," declared Williams. 

Williams will be arriving in Dubai later this week for the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship that begins on 17 February.