Williams conquers first- set nerves
WOMEN’S DRAW HAYLEY MILNE
SERENA WILLIAMS admitted she was struggling with a lack of confidence in the opening set of her first- round match at the French Open.
The 23- time grand slam singles champion was taking on Kristie Ahn in a rematch of their US Open clash and, as with that encounter, Williams edged a tight first set before easing through the second in a 7- 6 ( 2) 6- 0 victory.
Williams made 28 unforced errors in the opening set and had to break Ahn when she served for it before stepping up in the tie- break.
“The biggest difference was just confidence,” she said. “I just need to play with more confidence, like I’m Serena.
“So that was it. I just started playing like that. And I love the clay and I started playing like it, opening the court and moving and sliding.”
Next up for the sixth seed will be another New York rematch, this time with Tsvetana Pironkova, who took a set off the American in the quarter- finals.
It was a remarkable run for Pironkova, who was playing her first tournament following three years in retirement, and she continued her good form in Paris with a 6- 3 6- 3 victory over Andrea Petkovic.
Third seed Elina Svitolina arrived in Paris fresh from winning a WTA title in Strasbourg and survived a strong test from Varvara Gracheva, winning 7- 6 ( 2) 6- 4.
Fifth seed Kiki Bertens will be a name to watch as one of the most comfortable leading players on clay, and she recovered from a slow start to defeat Katarina Zavatska 2- 6 6- 2 6- 0.
Zavatska was left in the unusual position of having to borrow a racket from her coach in the stands after breaking so many strings that she ran out of her own.
Seventh seed Petra Kvitova took advantage of indoor conditions in a 6- 3 7- 5 victory over France’s Oceane Dodin.