Published>Wed, May 05 10 08:08 PM
World number one Serena Williams showed on Wednesday she had not shaken off the rust from her long injury absence, toiling to beat Germany's Andrea Petkovic 6-2 3-6 6-0 to reach the Italian Open quarter-finals.
The American had a sticky patch against unseeded Petkovic, after having taken her time to get going against Swiss Timea Bacsinszky on Tuesday in her first match since winning January's Australian Open.
However she has already shown in Rome an ability to raise her game when needed, an attribute she is likely to have to call upon at this month's French Open.
Williams looked comfortable in the first set, reading her opponent's beefy serve well and using Petkovic's power to crack some sizzling return winners.
She was swinging the racket with gusto at the start of the second set, with a gorgeous net volley and an emphatic smash helping her to hold to love in the second game.
Williams then began attacking the ball too early, leading to unforced errors that let the German off the hook when she was under pressure in the following game.
The world number one's rhythm suddenly went astray and she was broken twice on the way to losing the second set, bouncing her racket on the ground in frustration when a netted forehand clinched it for Petkovic.
Williams regained her concentration though to win the decider without dropping a game.
Source: Web Search
0 comments:
Post a Comment