The Serena slump almost doomed the ``Serena slam'' in the first round of the Australian Open.
Serena Williams survived a second-set tiebreaker and finally prevailed 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5 over 56th-ranked Emilie Loit of France in two hours, three minutes yesterday, despite spraying 55 unforced errors around the court.
PHOTO: AFP
The victory kept alive Williams' chances of winning four Grand Slam tournaments in a row.
She defeated elder sister Venus in the championship matches at the French and US Opens and Wimbledon last year. But she missed a chance at a true slam -- all four major titles in one calendar year -- when she twisted her ankle in a tuneup event for last year's Australian Open.
``I made too many errors. I didn't play anywhere near my ability,'' Williams said. ``I was getting a little tense, a little tight. ... I was just happy I was able to pull it through.''
With her mother and Venus watching from the stands, Williams almost was chased from the only Grand Slam event she's never won.
``It was definitely a big sigh,'' Williams said after Loit netted an inside-out forehand passing shot on the third match point.
Loit, who thought her left-handed shots might bother Williams, added, ``I was feeling so good on the court, I thought anything could happen.''
She said the stress she was feeling before the match, which caused a largely sleepless night, melted away in irritation over what she perceived as a sneer by Williams when Loit won the toss and chose to receive.
``Later on in the match, when I saw her getting irritated and losing it a bit, I really enjoyed that,'' Loit said. ``In the end, she was very pleasant. She said the usual kind of things like `good match.'''
The tournament already had lost one of the potential challengers to the Williams sisters.
On Monday, Jennifer Capriati, the 2001 and 2002 Australian winner, became the first women's defending champion to lose in the first round of this tournament in the Open era.
Yesterday, however, Kim Clijsters, who beat both Williams sisters two months ago, surged into the second round with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over American Samantha Reeves. Clijsters needed just 62 minutes to win with her heavy groundstrokes, ending when Reeves hit a serve return into the net.
Venus started Monday by losing the first three games, but quickly rebounded for a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Serena won her first game, but then quickly fell behind with her wild shooting.
She stared into the stands with a look on her face that said ``Help!'' and at one point started to throw down her racket, but caught herself. She received a warning in the second set for an audible obscenity.
Loit, whose best previous Grand Slam performance was reaching the Australian Open's fourth round in 1999, closed out the first set by sending Williams one way with a forehand crosscourt and then putting away a volley.
Williams looked like she was ready to take control when she broke Loit at love in the second set's first game. But Loit gained the break back in the 10th game, which she finished with two forehand winners.
After Williams took a 5-1 lead in the tiebreaker, Loit rebounded to 5-4 thanks to two Williams errors and a backhand winner down the line.
Williams reached match point with an ace, followed with a double fault, but won the set when Loit hit a forehand long.
Loit gained the first break of the final set for 3-2, but Williams immediately broke back.
The French player saved two match points while trailing 5-4 with a forehand winner and a drop shot, but then couldn't hold serve despite leading 40-30 in the last game.
The Australian Open has been troublesome in the past for both Williams sisters. Serena never has advanced past the quarterfinals. Venus was a semifinalist once, in 2001.
On the men's side, No. 3 Marat Safin, last year's runner-up, beat Dutch player Raemon Sluiter 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, and Gustavo Kuerten, a three-time French Open champion who now is seeded 30th, beat Morocco's Hicham Arazi 6-4, 7-6 (8), 6-3.
No. 6 Roger Federer needed nearly three hours to beat Brazil's Flavio Saretta 7-6 (4), 7-5, 6-3, and No. 7 Jiri Novak defeated American Vincent Spadea 6-2, 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (3).
Wimbledon runner-up David Nalbandian advanced when France's Jerome Golmard quit after three sets with a back injury.
Nalbandian led 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 before the withdrawal by Golmard, who also hurt his back in a tournament at the end of last year in India.
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