Serena cruises in Australian return
MELBOURNE, Australia – Serena Williams jumped straight back in where she left off at the Australian Open, returning for the first time since winning the title in 2017 when she was pregnant with her first child.
Williams conceded only five points in the first set and was completely clinical in a 6-0, 6-2 win on Tuesday over Tatjana Maria, another mom who lives close to Williams in Florida and visits for play dates with their daughters.
It was overwhelming for Maria, who got just two of her first serves into play in the first set and didn’t have game points until she held in the fourth game of the second set. She was in tears as the pair hugged at the net at the end of the match.
“Yeah, I think the last time I was here, I was pregnant and playing at the same time – which is insane,” Williams said. “It’s kind of weird walking back on, by myself this time.”
Williams rates the 2017 title here among the best of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles, giving everything that was going on. Since returning to the tour following the birth of Alexis Olympia, Williams has lost the finals at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
“Literally the best win of my career,” she recalled Tuesday in a post-match TV interview. “Just exciting to be back.”
At Melbourne Park, she’s now on an eight-match winning streak. She’s only lost one of her last 22 matches at the season-opening major, which she has won seven times.
The 16th-seeded Williams will face either Eugenie Bouchard or wild-card entry Peng Shuai in the second round.
Madison Keys opened her season with a 6-2, 6-2 win over 18-year-old wild-card entry Destanee Aiava in the first match on Rod Laver Arena on Day 2.
“I expected it to be tough – obviously playing an Aussie on Rod Laver. Thanks for the love, anyway,” Keys told the crowd.
She broke Aiava’s serve four times and fended off the only break-point chance she faced.
In action on Monday, Andy Murray, who’s has hinted at retirement recently, gave a gutsy goodbye to the Australian Open.
Playing on a surgically repaired right hip so painful that pulling on socks is a chore, he summoned the strength and strokes to erase a big deficit and force a fifth set before eventually succumbing to 22nd-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (4), 6-2.
“If today was my last match, look, it was a brilliant way to finish,” Murray said. “I literally gave everything that I had on the court, fought as best as I could, and performed a lot better than what I should have done with the amount I’ve been able to practice and train.”