Serena Williams praised her 17 year-old opponent Lisa Pigato after winning her first match in Parma.
The 23-time grand slam champion advanced in Parma with a relatively comfortable 6-3 6-2 over 17 year-old qualifier Lisa Pigato.
Even though it was a dream start for the world number 572 as she broke serve in the first game, Serena came back strong breaking on four occasions in the 68 minute victory.
Serena won 21 of her 28 first service points and fired down six aces as she progressed into the second round.
However the biggest moment was after the match when Pigato asked for a photograph with Serena and had a conversation with one of her idols.
After the match Serena complimented the young Italian, “Lisa played really well,” Serena said in her on-court interview.
“She told me she was only 17. Her future is super-bright – she handled the moment well, so I look forward to cheering for her in the future.”
As for Serena she is into the second round where she will face a much tougher test in world number 68 Katerina Siniakova.
In other results in Parma, Sloane Stephens got off to a winning start after beating Caty McNally 7-6(4) 6-4 in just under two hours.
Despite losing her serve on four occasions, the former US Open champion came through to set up a second round clash with Daria Kasatkina.
