Serena Williams overcame both rust and ankle soreness to defeat Maria Sakkari 7-6(3), 6-2, at the Hopman Cup.
The 23-time grand slam champion struggled to find her range during the opening set, but managed to fight back from a break down to force the proceedings into a tiebreaker. Where she broke Sakkari twice to clinch the 7-6 lead. Then in the second set, the American claimed four games in a row to win the match after 104 minutes of play. In total Williams hit 13 aces and 29 winners.
“It was my first match back.I was making a lot of errors,” Williams said. “It was great to be back out on match day.”
Following the conclusion of the first set, Williams had a medical time out to have the strapping on her ankle tightened. Despite the break, it seemed to have little impact on her movement on the court as she bids to win the Hopman Cup for the third time in her career. This year is her fifth appearance in the tournament overall.
“It’s great to be back out in match day, and it’s great to be back out here,” The 37-year-old said after the match.
“I love playing in Australia. Some of my best memories are here.
“It was my first match back (today), she played unbelievable. Maria is super young and such a good player.
“I was making a lot of errors. I was like, ‘It’s ok, it’s your first match and you’ll get better’. I just kept trying to think that.”
This week is the first time Williams has played in Australia since the birth of her child in September 2017. She is hoping for a strong run in Perth ahead of the Australian Open.
Greece comes out on top
Despite Williams’ win, it was not enough to seal victory for her country. Leaving the American team with it all to do in their upcoming clash with Switzerland’s Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic on New Year’s Day.
In the men’s singles, Stefanos Tsitsipas overcame Frances Tiafoe in a hard fought 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-3, victory. The world No.15 had a 6-3, 3-1 lead, but failed to maintain his stronghold. Allowing Tiafoe to bounce back during what was a humid day in Perth.
“He didn’t want to lose, he’s a big fighter and had some great results last year,” Tsitsipas said of Tiafoe.
“I had to fight even harder, one of us had to fight a bit more.
“At the end it paid off. Using the right tactics, using the right patterns on the court.
“I was a bit more patient, did things a bit better and in the end deserved victory.”
Speaking about the conditions, Tsitsipas said that he was able to deal with them better than he did in his first match. He lost to British world No.91 Cameron Norrie in straight sets over the weekend.
“I felt a bit uncomfortable in the first match I played. I couldn’t last long. I felt like I was out of breath,” he said.
“But today I felt really comfortable playing the rallies. My shots felt better. In general I felt much more confident, and more me.
“Frances told me he felt the exact same thing I felt in my first match. I told him it was probably because of jet lag and the heat combined.”
Greece later secured the 2-1 win in the mixed doubles. Winning their the match 4-1, 1-4, 4-2.
