Serena Williams – Ekaterina Makarova
Of all the possible players Serena Williams could face in the opening round, she drew one of the most trickiest. Ekaterina Makarova at her best has the potential to trouble any player on the WTA Tour and she has previously defeated Williams in a grand slam tournament. In 2012, she dismissed the American 6-2, 6-3, in the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Coming into the final major tournament of the year, Williams has been troubled by inflammation in her right shoulder. The issue forced her to withdraw from the Canadian and Cincinnati Open, both of which are premier level tournaments.
“I have not played a lot and practiced a lot. The shoulder is getting a little bit better. I am taking it a day at a time.” Williams said.
“Usually I prefer to play more coming into tournament. But there is nothing you can do about it and I am going to try to make the best of every single opportunity that I have to play.”
Williams leads Makarova 4-1 in their head-to-head, however, their last meeting was in 2014. Despite boasting a dominant record against the Russian, Williams is aware of the threat she faces.
“I know she’s a good player. I’ve just got to do the best I can. She’s a big fighter. She never really stops,” She said about Makarova.
“I think one thing I think that’s pretty impressive is she gets a lot of balls back. You think she’s not super quick, but she is.” Williams concluded.
