Serena powers to first win in comeback
INDIAN WELLS » Serena Williams’ power game is intact, whether she’s firing aces or smashing groundstrokes. Her grit is there, too.
Her timing may be a little off and the unforced errors are a clue she has been away for 14 months.
All in all, the 23-time major winner is glad to be back on the job with a new husband and 6-month-old baby.
Williams began her latest comeback with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday night.
“I’m not where I want to be, but I’m getting there,” she said. “Every day is going to be a challenge for me, but I know I’ll overcome it.”
Away since winning the 2017 Australian Open early in her pregnancy, Williams gave birth to Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. in September and married Alexis Ohanian in November.
She’s playing under a protected ranking of 22nd and hasn’t been unseeded at a tournament since 2011 in Cincinnati.
“I’m a little rusty, but it doesn’t matter,” she said. “I’m just out here on this journey and doing the best I can.”
Another new mother, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, won her first-round match over Heather Watson 6-4, 6-2.
“Walking out on court I felt so much love and almost had tears in my eyes,” Azarenka said. “It really means the world to me to be able to be here and play and enjoy myself and do what I like to do.”
Azarenka, who like Williams is a two-time winner of the desert tournament, has been off the tour since Wimbledon. She gave birth to son Leo in December 2016 and has been in a custody fight that limited her travel.