World No. 2 Serena Williams shook out any cobwebs from four months away from tennis with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over France’s Pauline Parmentier in the first round of the ASB Classic in Auckland yesterday.
The 35-year-old had not played a competitive match since she lost to Karolina Pliskova in the semi-finals of the US Open in September last year, withdrawing from all tennis to deal with a persistent shoulder injury.
She struggled with the wind and had some rusty moments in the second set when the Frenchwoman broke in the fourth game and held three break points in the sixth.
Photo: AP
The top seed was able to overcome them, though, and won the match with her eighth ace.
“It was my first match back in several months and I played a really good player,” Williams said after she wrapped up the victory in 75 minutes to set up a second-round clash against fellow American Madison Brengle.
“The wind was really getting to me,” she said. “Every day I have practiced here there was no wind, but today it was so windy. So it was fun. Actually, it wasn’t fun, it was interesting.”
She conceded she was feeling rusty and would be selective about her schedule this season.
“I don’t see myself playing a full, full schedule, but who knows? I’m going to take it tourney by tourney,” she said.
Injury kept her out of much of the second half of last year, even though she still triumphed at Wimbledon to equal Steffi Graf’s Open era record of 22 Grand Slam titles and her target this year is to surpass that.
“Unfortunately, I have the highest of goals usually, so obviously that involves winning Grand Slams,” she said.
Another former world No. 1, Caroline Wozniacki, dropped just one game in a ruthless 6-1, 6-0 dismantling of Nicole Gibbs.
“It’s the first match of the year for me so it’s always tough, [but] today everything was going in, even with the wind I managed to keep control of the ball and the points,” Wozniacki said.
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