The American, playing in her 19th Wimbledon broke for 5-4 and served out for a place in round two and a meeting with Greece’s Maria Sakkari who upset China’s Zheng Saisai. “I feel good and confident”. She has a win-loss ratio of 238-20, or 92.2% – compared with 523-107 (83%) before they met.
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Since winning last year’s title, Williams has come up short in the majors, losing in the semifinals at the U.S. Open and finals of the Australian and French Opens.
She wanted to make sure she came back strong so people would take her comeback seriously.
Her run at the last grand slam saw wins over the likes of Kiki Bertens, Yulia Putintseva and Elina Svitolina, with the world No.1 dropping only one game up until the final.
So, can she fix her psyche and her tennis? Williams ended up defeating four of the sport’s top 23 players en route to a championship.
Women’s singles 1st rd (selected) Roberta Vinci (Ita) bt Alison Riske (USA) 6-2 5-7 6-3, Elena Vesnina (Rus) bt Tamira Paszek (Aut) 7-5 6-2, Serena Williams (USA) bt Amra Sadikovic (Sui) 6-2 6-4, Duan Yingying (Chn) bt Kristyna Pliskova (Cze) 6-3 3-6 7-5, Christina McHale (USA) bt Daniela Hantuchova (Svk) 7-5 6-2.
“I would be lying if I said I feel fresh, but I don’t feel fatigue”, Williams said.
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Serena Williams gave little away on Sunday as she assessed her chances of retaining her Wimbledon title – and dismissed suggestions that she is under any pressure. And she did so by scoring on 45 of 66 first service points and by winning 29 points at the net. In Wimbledon 2016 Day 2, it will be Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka and Serena Williams’ turn to kick off their campaign on a positive note. “It’s pretty cool”, said Williams.
Pete Sampras believes no-one can stop Serena Williams at Wimbledon as long as the defending champion has the required motivation.
Williams hasn’t graced the court since Roland Garros, willing to start her title defence without any preparation.
Murray finished the match just before the first rain delay of the tournament.
Murray, the 2013 champion, had not faced a fellow Britain in 56 previous Wimbledon matches while two home players had not squared off at the All England Club for 15 years.
“When I’m walking down those corridors [of the All England Club on to Centre Court], you think of different moments that you’ve had, different moments that you’ve won, or didn’t win”.
Broady, still sporting the beard that caused a stir when he won a round previous year, contributed to some eye-catching rallies but landed few telling blows as Murray raced away.
Williams, for one, says Djokovic could be the player to get the deed done.
“I think about winning the French Open. So he should be fine”.
That said, Williams is most interested in matches finally getting underway at this year’s edition of the tournament.
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“It was a solid start in the right direction”, said Serena. “I’m kind of over practicing every day for two hours, then going to the gym for some time”.
