IT’S SUPER MUM
Serena off to a fine start (in tights!)
There is the unusually high count of six mothers in the main singles draw at Wimbledon this year, and the most famous one of all was back, on Court No 1.
how the world’s greatest female athlete is embracing parenthood has been a subject of fascination leading into this year’s Championships, fuelled by her very open and honest disclosures of its joys and pitfalls.
This, though, was Williams back in her office, and by the end of her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Dutch lefthander Arantxa rus it was clear that she is deadly serious about one thing this fortnight.
The 36-year-old American knows that time is running out, and she wants to win this title, badly.
You could tell that by the way that Mrs Williams — as umpire Kader Nouni referred to her — accompanied every winner she hit with a faintly blood-curdling, lingering grunt as each one sped towards the back canvas.
The brisk wind that swirled around beneath the reconfigured roof on Court No 1 acted as a leveller, but this was a big improvement on her first outing back at the French Open five weeks ago.
And if Paris is anything to go by she will get better with each round, hopefully not concluding in the sort of withdrawal that occurred prior to the fourth round there.
Williams conceded that an ability to compartmentalise her new life will be crucial to her progress in the coming days. She spent the morning with Olympia, her daughter, and then it was off to work.
‘I’m adjusting well,’ she said. ‘I really don’t like being away from her, but I also think it’s healthy in a way for me to do what I need to do, be that working mom, then go back home and be the mom. But it’s hard. I realised at roland Garros, if the days were long, that was hard because I felt guilty. I was like, “I haven’t seen Olympia”.’
What has not changed are the demands she places on herself when out on the court.
‘I expected to win this match,’ she said. ‘I don’t go out there expecting to do well, see what happens. That’s just not me. Not only do I expect to win, I expect to win emphatically. Sometimes I put too much pressure on myself, I’m over-anxious.’
After the dramatic catsuit she wore in Paris there was inevitably much interest in which outfit she would sport here. She walked out looking vaguely like a judoka in a tracksuit with a band around the waist, and then stripped off to reveal a more conventional tennis outfit that would have been passed by Wimbledon’s clothing censors.
This featured compression tights, which are needed to combat the blood clot issues she has suffered from.
Fashion questions are all part of the circus around her which, she hinted, might include a visit from her friend Meghan Markle if she stays in the tournament long enough.
On yesterday’s evidence she may be around for some time, assuming her serve cranks up a little after pectoral muscle issues and her footwork improves, as it should.
She now faces Bulgarian qualifier Viktoriya Tomova, the world No 135, who may not be as tricky as the highly mobile Dutch southpaw she faced yesterday.
Williams needed to break back in the second set but the fair test provided by rus was probably exactly what was required.