Serena advances in Miami
FACING the setting sun, Serena Williams tried to shield her eyes with her left hand as she hit a shot, lost the point and then waved in frustration at the bothersome glare.
Later, after a seesaw victory in her first match at the Miami Open’s new site, she was able to joke about the unwanted spotlight.
“A lot of photographers came,” Williams said. “I thought, ‘This must be good light.’ I thought about taking a selfie, but you’ve got to stay in the moment.”
Williams played poorly for a stretch and was broken three times but steadied her game in the final set to beat Rebecca Peterson 6-3, 1-6, 6-1. She avoided a repeat of last year, when she was eliminated in the first round by Naomi Osaka.
That was Williams’ farewell to Key Biscayne, where she won eight titles. Only Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf have won any women’s tournament more times.
Six-time men’s champion Novak Djokovic won his opening match under the lights, beating Bernard Tomic 7-6 (2), 6-2.
With the Miami Open’s move to the Dolphins’ stadium complex, players are adjusting to the unfamiliar setting. The No. 1-ranked Osaka beat qualifier Yanina Wickmayer 6-0, 6-7 (3), 6-1, but she and Williams both found the mix of sun and shadows in the cavernous stadium a challenge.
“It was interesting,” Williams said. “First it was dark out there, which was really odd. The shadows were so intense it was dark, and then ... there was light.”
She chuckled and said, “Whatever. I need to focus on playing better or not being in the tournament much longer.”
Osaka agreed that any issues with visibility weren’t worth complaining about. She hit 14 aces and overcame a ragged stretch in the second set, when she became so frustrated she threw her racket.
“I had a bit of a dip,” Osaka said. “It was really hard for me, I think, emotionally in the second set, because I just started thinking about winning, not exactly the things I could do in order to win.” /