Serena Williams looked mortified and turned around after walking onto the Australian Open court while 'world number one' Simona Halep was being announced

Photo by William WEST / AFP

Serena Williams.

• Serena Williams made an embarrassing mistake before her Australian Open match against Simona Halep on Monday.
• Williams was already through the tunnel and had made a few steps onto the court when she was receiving applause from the crowd.
• The only problem? The cheers were not for her. She had mistimed her entrance as the announcer had called for the world number one Halep.
• Any embarrassment proved to be short-lived as Williams beat Halep two sets to one, and now progresses into Wednesday's quarter-final.

Serena Williams looked mortified as she made her way to the Rod Laver Arena for her crucial Australian Open match on Monday.

Williams was already through the tunnel, had made a few steps onto the court, and received a round of applause from the Melbourne crowd before she realized she had completely mistimed her entrance and that the cheers were not intended for her.

This is because Williams walked onto the court as her opponent's name, the world number one Simona Halep, was being announced.

All Williams could do was double back down the tunnel, and make her way back to the court after Halep.

Watch footage of the ordeal below:

Any embarrassment proved to be short-lived as Williams threatened to make light work of Halep.

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The American won the first set 6-1 in approximately 20 minutes, before Halep battled back in the second to restore parity heading into the critical third and final stanza, one which Williams won with aplomb.

"I'm such a fighter, I never give up, I … it's … I don't know, it's innate," Williams said after the match, according to the Australian Open's official Twitter channel. "This is my job… my job is to come out and play in front of you guys and it's a super pleasure. That keeps me motivated to keep trying for literally every point."

With victory, Williams booked her place in the final eight - her 50th appearance in a Grand Slam quarter-final - and plays Karolína Plíšková on Wednesday.