Serena Williams was forced to produce a strong effort, but found good form from the start and dispatched Kristyna Pliskova 7-6, 6-4 in the first round of the French Open on Tuesday.
The 23-time grand slam champion looked sharp and match fit despite a layoff of more than two months, moving smoothly and displaying her trademark power over an hour and 47 minutes.
Williams impressed in the match’s key junctures. She won five of the last six points in the first set tiebreak after falling behind early, then responded to losing her serve twice in the second set by breaking back immediately.
“I think the match went well. It wasn’t an easy match,” Williams said. “Overall, I was definitely happy with my performance and how I played today.”
The first set followed a much more straightforward path, with no service breaks and just one combined break point. Still, Pliskova pushed the three-time French Open victor at several points, forcing Williams to cover the court quickly and limit errors.
Williams displayed extraordinary effectiveness on her first serve, losing only one first serve point on it. Pliskova, however, was her equal at the service line, firing 10 early aces to no double faults.
“I knew that after her first game of serving, I said, Okay, I have to serve really well today. I need to really be on my game serving-wise, because, you know, there’s not going to be a tremendous amount of rallies,'” Williams said.
The Czech began to fade in the second set, dropping her serve on three consecutive occasions and failing to save a single break point. She gamely edged ahead 2-0 after breaking Williams in a marathon game, but was unable to take advantage and did not again win consecutive games.
Pliskova, however, continued to challenge the American to the final point, saving a match point and earning three ensuing break points before she dumped a backhand into the net to complete Williams’ victory.
Williams never dominated her opponent, ranked No. 70 in the world, firing fewer winners and aces while making a lower percentage of first serves. She won 84 total points to 77 for Pliskova but thrived in break point situations: She converted three of four, and saved six of eight.
“I feel like I’m on the right track. You know, I have been putting a lot of work in on the court, off the court, on the court, on the court, off the court, that’s kind of been my life. I have been really enjoying it,” Williams said. “Hopefully the results continue to show.”
The victory was Williams’ first since early March and just her third since returning from giving birth in September. She will next face Australia’s Ash Barty, the No. 17 seed, and remains on course for a possible fourth round matchup with Maria Sharapova.
