BABY BOOM!
New mum Serena returns to action
SERENA WILLIAMS was coy about her chances of defending her Australian Open title next month, as she returned to action yesterday just four months after giving birth to a baby girl.
The former world No1 lost on her return to competitive tennis, against French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in an exhibition match in the United Arab Emirates.
The 36-year-old struggled with her serve and understandably wasn’t moving around the court as freely as she once did, but still took the second set off Ostapenko 6-3 having lost the first 2-6. She lost 10-5 in a super tie-breaker.
Williams, the winner of 23 Grand Slam singles titles, said after the 67-minute match at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship that she still has not decided whether to defend her title at the Australian Open, which starts on January 15, but delivered a warning to her rivals.
‘ I don’t know if I am totally ready to come back on the tour yet,’ said Williams, who has been off court since winning the Australian Open last January while pregnant. She gave birth to daughter Olympia on September 1.
‘When I come back I definitely want to be competing for championships. I am definitely looking forward to getting back out there. I am taking it one day at a time. I am going to assess everything with my team before deciding.’
Williams confessed that it wasn’t easy concentrating. ‘I was a little worried out there, I was looking at my camp and wondering if Olympia was all right,’ she said. ‘It’s good to be back on court, but first matches back are super, incredibly hard.’
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic’s participation in the Australian Open is in doubt after he withdrew from another tournament yesterday, saying he still has pain in his right elbow.
The injury forced Djokovic to withdraw from an exhibition tournament in the United Arab Emirates on Friday and the 30-year-old Serb said his elbow had not improved enough for him to take part in next week’s Qatar Open.
The tournament in Qatar, where Djokovic is the defending champion, was the last on his schedule before the Australian Open.
‘ Unfortunately, the situation with the elbow has not changed for the better. I still feel the pain,’ Djokovic said. ‘Only when I’m 100 per cent ready to play, I will be able to come back.’
Former world No1 Andy Murray came through a one-set exhibition match against Roberto Bautista Agut on Friday and will continue his comeback from injury at the Brisbane Open, where he will take on either Ryan Harrison or Leonardo Mayer,
Kyle Edmund plays Canada’s Denis Shapovalov, a rematch of their US Open clash in August when the Briton retired hurt.
British No1 Johanna Konta, seeded five in Brisbane, was handed an awkward first-round tie against world No19 Madison Keys, of the United States.