Williams swings into action
Serena Williams jumped straight back in where she left off at the Australian Open, returning for the first time since winning the title in 2017 when she was pregnant with her first child.
Williams conceded only five points in the first set and was completely clinical in a 6-0, 6-2 win over Tatjana Maria, another mom who lives close to Williams in Florida and visits for play dates with their daughters.
It was overwhelming for Maria, who got just two of her first serves into play in the first set and didn’t have game points until she held in the fourth game of the second set. She was in tears as the pair hugged at the net following the match, and Williams joined the crowd in giving the German player a clap as she left the arena.
‘‘Yeah, I think the last time I was here, I was pregnant and playing at the same time — which is insane,’’ Williams said. ‘‘It’s kind of weird walking back on, by myself this time.’’
Williams considers the 2017 victory here among the best of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles, giving everything that was going on. Since returning to the tour following the birth of Alexis Olympia, Williams hasn’t added to her list of majors, having lost the finals at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
The 16th-seeded Williams will face Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard Peng Shuai in the second round.
Madison Keys opened her season with a 6-2, 6-2 win over 18-year-old Australian wild-card entry Destanee Aiava in the first match on Rod Laver Arena on Day 2.
The No. 17-seeded Keys has reached the semifinals or better at three of the last five Grand Slam tournaments, and her focus is on the bigger prizes for now.
Seventh-seeded Karolina Pliskova won the Brisbane International title in the first week of the season and continued her streak by beating fellow Czech Karolina Muchova 6-3, 6-2 to progress to the second round. No. 12 Elise Mertens and No. 21 Qiang Wang also advanced.
Kei Nishikori is feeling a little bit liberated after having to come back from two sets down to beat Kamil Majchrzak in a difficult opener.
The eighth-seeded Nishikori won 10 consecutive games after losing the second set in a tiebreaker and took 15 of the last 17 games before Majchrzak retired with an injury with the score at 3-6, 6-7 (6), 6-0, 6-2, 3-0 at Margaret Court Arena.
‘‘He was playing amazing tennis,’’ Nishikori said. ‘‘I have to be happy going to the next round — I almost lost in the first round, so I have to be positive and get better.’’
Among the other men advancing were Ryan Harrison, who beat Jiri Vesely 6-0, 7-5, 6-3, No. 12 Fabio Fognini and No. 15 Daniil Medvedev.
Pierre-Hugues Herbert beat Sam Querrey 5-7, 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-1. AP