Serena makes winning return
Paris, May 29: Serena Williams made a winning return to Grand Slam tennis which was as memorable as her body- hugging black catsuit when she reached the Roland Garros second round on Tuesday. The 36- year- old downed Kristyna Pliskova of the Czech Republic 7- 6 ( 7/ 4), 6- 4 to register her first victory at the majors since her 2017 Australian Open triumph. "I missed Roland Garros so much, I missed the battle," Williams, the 2002, 2013 and 2015 champion in Paris, said after playing her first clay court match since finishing runner- up to Garbine Muguruza in the 2016 final on the same Philippe Chatrier Court.
"I couldn't play last year. I had a baby but I am so happy to be back.
“It's been two years since I played here. It wasn't easy but I have been training really hard. I feel good and just so happy to be back here."
Williams, the winner of an Open era record 23 Grand Slam titles, had arrived at Roland Garros with just four matches under her belt in 2018.
The last time she had been spotted on a court was in a first- round loss to Naomi Osaka in Miami in March.
The 36- year- old last played a major tournament in a victorious 2017 Australian Open campaign while two months pregnant, before taking time out of the game to give birth to her daughter. Serena has since crashed to 451 in the world as a result, although she was able to use her protected ranking to enter the French Open.
The former world number one briefly returned for the American hardcourt season, but suffered early losses ● A run to the title at Roland Garros so soon into her comeback may be unlikely, but Serena can never be ruled out and victory would draw her level with Margaret Court’s alltime record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles.
to sister Venus and Naomi Osaka in Indian Wells and Miami respectively.
A run to the title at Roland Garros so soon into her comeback may be unlikely, but Serena can never be ruled out and victory would draw her level with Margaret Court’s alltime record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles.
Should she get through the first couple of rounds, Serena appears to have been handed a good draw, although may have a potential last- 16 clash with Kristyna Pliskova’s sister and sixth seed Karolina, who reached the semifinals last year.
There has been controversy surrounding the decision by French Open organisers not to give her a seeding, with Wimbledon likely to do just that for their tournament in July based on her grass- court pedigree.
But fellow former Grand Slam champions Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azarenka have both backed Roland Garros, saying that Serena shouldn’t get special treatment.
Azarenka herself wasn’t given a seeding at Wimbledon last year after returning to the game following the birth of her son