Seamless return for Williams
Serena comfortably sweeps German aside in opening round of Australian Open
This was quite a return for Serena Williams. Almost as if she never left. In her first match at the Australian Open since winning the 2017 title while pregnant — and her first official match anywhere since a loss in the chaotic US Open final last September — Williams looked to be at her dominant best, overpowering Tatjana Maria 6-0, 6-2 in the first round on Tuesday.
“I kind of like to jump in the deep end and swim,” Williams said after the 49-minute workout, “and see what happens.”
She hadn’t dipped her toe in Grand Slam waters since New York, where everything devolved after Williams was warned for getting coaching, then docked a point for breaking a racket and eventually docked a game for calling the chair umpire “a thief“during the final.
Truth be told, the match against Maria was not much of a test for Williams, given that the 74th-ranked German entered with an 11-15 record in first-round matches at Grand Slam tournaments, only once has made it as far as the third round at any major and owns a total of one career WTA title after a dozen years on the tour.
Two years ago, no one knew Serena Williams was carrying her child while winning her 23rd major to break a tie with Steffi Graf for the most in the half-century professional era. Her baby, Olympia, was born on September 1, 2017, and Williams was off the tour until last March. Her Grand Slam return came at the 2018 French Open, where she reached the fourth round before withdrawing with an injured chest muscle, and was followed by runner-up showings at Wimbledon and the US Open.
Because of a health scare after giving birth, Serena wears compression stockings during matches to try to avoid blood clots again.
On a humid afternoon with the temperature topping 32C on Tuesday, she wore a green leotard of sorts — she called it a “Serena-tard”— and while her dangerous serve produced only two aces, her other, considerable, tools were in working order.
Other seeded winners included No 4 Naomi Osaka, No 7 Karolina Pliskova, No 12 Elise Mertens, No 13 Anastasija Sevastova, No 17 Madison Keys and No 18 Garbine Muguruza among the women, plus No 4 Alexander Zverev, No 8 Kei Nishikori, No 11 Borna Coric and No 12 Fabio Fognini among the men.
Both Nishikori, who had dropped the opening two sets against qualifier Kamil Majchrzak, and Fognini advanced when their opponents retired mid-match.
French Open finalist Dominic Thiem went the distance against Benoit Paire before wrapping up a 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 1-6, 6-3 win just after 2am.
Williams’ older sister, Venus, is unseeded at a major for the first time in five years and she was a game from a first-round exit before coming all the way back to eliminate 25th-seeded Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-7 (3), 7-6 (3), 6-2.
The tournament’s two No 1 seeds, Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep, both won — although in contrasting fashion. Djokovic eliminated Mitchell Krueger of the US 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, while Halep trailed by a set and a break before coming back to beat Kaia Kanepi 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-2 and avoid becoming the first top-seeded woman in 40 years to lose her opening match at the Australian Open.— NZ Herald