World number one Williams, who matched the Open Era record for Grand Slam titles with her 22nd at Wimbledon, said she had plenty of room for improvement after a 6-3, 6-3 first-round win over Ekterina Makarova.
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Williams, launching her latest bid to rewrite the record books, started strong and didnt let up in 6-3, 6-3 victory over 29th-ranked Ekaterina Makarova.
If this is how Serena Williams serves when she can’t practice properly because her right shoulder is sore, watch out when she’s 100 percent healthy. If she had to play the 1999 version of Serena, how would that match play out now? ‘If I were to go back in time, I don’t think I would win, because I was determined to win in 1999. A year ago was an awesome moment for me, for my tennis, for my team, for my family, for everything. “I definitely saw a big difference once I came back from taking time off and being ill”.
While the three-set victories were a testament to her competitive toughness, the off-court battle turned out to be a considerably tougher one. The shoulder, Williams said, felt good, but she also acknowledged the day after (Wednesday in this case) would be more informative as to her condition.
On Tuesday night, Serena Williams took to her Twitter account, gushing over a new Nike ad entitled #UnlimitedGreatness, in which Olympic heroes Simone Biles, Gabrielle Douglas, Nia Ali and many more show her the utmost love and respect.
Venus will take on Kateryna Kozlova of Ukraine in the afternoon Tuesday before her top-ranked sister plays Ekaterina Makarova of Russian Federation in the night match at the stadium with the new retractable roof. She is well on her way and if she keeps her game play up, she will have no problem knocking off her opponents.
Del Potro beat fellow Argentine Diego Schwartzman 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (3) on Tuesday after missing the tournament the last two years because of three left wrist surgeries.
On the men’s side of the tournament, second-seeded Andy Murray rolled to a straight-set victory.
Sixth-seeded Venus had provided the opening act for sister Serena when she outlasted Ukraine’s Kateryna Kozlova 6-2 5-7 6-4 before turning over the Arthur Ashe Stadium court to her top-seeded sibling.
“I had a great experience previous year”, she said. In July, she made the semi-finals of Wimbledon where she has been a five-time champion and is riding a wave of nostalgia at most venues she visits.
“I knew there were a lot of aces because there was a period (in the second set) when nearly every serve was an ace”.
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Halep says she wasn’t ideal, but pleased with how she played against the Belgian. A victory would put her five wins away from breaking the professional era record that she now shares with Graf.
