Serena Williams had to dig deep in an expectedly dramatic return to action in Kentucky.
Williams needed to rally to win on her comeback after a six-month layoff, beating unseeded American Bernarda Pera 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the first round of the Top Seed Open.
Williams advanced to a second-round showdown on Thursday against older sister Venus, who dispatched Victoria Azarenka 6-3, 6-2. The two will meet for the 31st time in a match that will be emotionally and physically challenging for both of them.
“From one Grand Slam (winner), one No 1 to another," said Venus Williams, who's record is 12-18 against her sister. “It's been quite the draw for me but, honestly, it's perfect because I don't play forever so I want to play the best players. And I think I got my wish. Here we go.”
Serena first had to clear some athletic hurdles against Pera in the opening match on centre court.
Looking to return to form following the break caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the 23-time Grand Slam champion laboured to avoid her 14th loss to an opponent ranked outside the top 50.
“I just knew I needed to be better,” Williams said. “I knew I could be better. And it was an interesting game. She had so many winners and (was) so low. I just had to kind of get used to a game a little bit. She played really well.”
Williams took 2 hours, 16 minutes to make it to another day at an event where players hope to polish their hard-court skills for this month’s US Open in New York.
Venus Williams had a much easier time against Azarenka on a star-studded Tuesday. The seven-time Slam champion led 4-0 in the second before splitting the final four games to earn her first victory in four attempts this year.
Up-and-coming Coco Gauff, 16, moved on to the next round by beating Caroline Dolehide, 7-5, 7-5.
“I played pretty freely today and it didn't turn out too bad,” said Gauff, who acknowledged some pre-match nerves.
Seventh-seeded Sloane Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion, lost to Canadian qualifier Leylah Fernandez, 6-3, 6-3.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
THREE
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
