Serena Williams was in tears and she was not quite sure why. She had just beaten Aravane Rezai 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 to begin the defence of her title and she could not stop sobbing. But after what she described as a "disaster year", she was finally back at her favourite tournament, on her favourite court - and she was winning again.
"I usually don't cry so I don't understand it," she gasped between the sobs. "It's been so hard, I never imagined I could be here."
As Wimbledon began, there were those who suggested that Serena had to be the favourite to defend her title. Where was the logic in that? Serena had not played for almost 12 months, she had suffered a freak foot injury - she trod on some broken glass in a Munich restaurant; she had had two bouts of surgery on that injury; she survived a pulmonary embolism (probably brought on by having her foot in a cast for weeks) and then had emergency surgery to clear a haematoma on her stomach. How could she be a favourite for the title?
But both Williams sisters have spent a career defying logic and put Serena within a few rounds of a major championship and she is a terrifying foe. Even so, when she opened the defence of her title she was playing only her third match in a year so surely she was bound to be a bit rusty. Rezai clearly thought so and went on the attack from the very start. As it turned out, that was not a good move.
If Serena had hoped for a gentle beginning, a little time to reacquaint herself with the Centre Court surroundings and a few minutes to get a feel for the ball, she was sorely disappointed. But forced to hit the ground running, she dug deep into her racket bag and found a selection of walloping serves, thumping forehands and a fragrant nosegay of volleys. There were glaring errors but not even a 13-time Grand Slam champion can be perfect all of the time, especially when she has barely played in a year.
The first game lasted fully 10 minutes as the two women tried to beat each other at the other's game. Rezai had the temerity to jump on any second serves and had the imagination and skill to pull the champion all over the court. That was enough to earn her the early break but holding on to it proved difficult. As Serena ran away with five consecutive games, the first set was more or less wrapped up. Committing just four unforced errors, she was in charge and seemingly steaming towards the second round.
But Serena is not the only one who has had a miserable year. After losing in the opening round of the Australian Open, Rezai admitted that she and her father had had a huge falling out - her mind had not been on tennis. By the second week of the French Open, she had lodged an official complaint with the police about her father and clearly her personal life was taking precedence over her tennis.
At the same time, the French Tennis Federation offered her some support and the coaching help of Alexia Dechaume. But having extended that coaching partnership until after Wimbledon (it was originally due end after Roland Garros), she fired Dechaume two days before her first match in SW19. Compared with all of that, playing Serena on Centre Court must have seemed like a breeze.
Rezai kept her head and continued doing what came naturally. She kept Serena on the run and, at times, ran the champion to a standstill. Even her fragile serve - she threw in eight double faults - was not going to stop her wrenching the second set from Serena's grasp as the former world No.1 began to fray at the edges. And as Serena's error count rose, so she started to look awfully tired.
Yet it is when she has her back to the wall that Serena is at her most dangerous. She gritted her teeth and glared at Rezai - the Frenchwoman was not going to spoil Serena's return to SW19, not while Serena still had breath in her body. She had been through too much in the past 12 months and she had waited too long for this moment. And so it was that Serena crushed Rezai's serve for a 3-1 lead in the deciding set and then sprinted into the next round.
"I usually don't cry so I don't understand it," she gasped between the sobs. "It's been so hard, I never imagined I could be here."
As Wimbledon began, there were those who suggested that Serena had to be the favourite to defend her title. Where was the logic in that? Serena had not played for almost 12 months, she had suffered a freak foot injury - she trod on some broken glass in a Munich restaurant; she had had two bouts of surgery on that injury; she survived a pulmonary embolism (probably brought on by having her foot in a cast for weeks) and then had emergency surgery to clear a haematoma on her stomach. How could she be a favourite for the title?
But both Williams sisters have spent a career defying logic and put Serena within a few rounds of a major championship and she is a terrifying foe. Even so, when she opened the defence of her title she was playing only her third match in a year so surely she was bound to be a bit rusty. Rezai clearly thought so and went on the attack from the very start. As it turned out, that was not a good move.
If Serena had hoped for a gentle beginning, a little time to reacquaint herself with the Centre Court surroundings and a few minutes to get a feel for the ball, she was sorely disappointed. But forced to hit the ground running, she dug deep into her racket bag and found a selection of walloping serves, thumping forehands and a fragrant nosegay of volleys. There were glaring errors but not even a 13-time Grand Slam champion can be perfect all of the time, especially when she has barely played in a year.
The first game lasted fully 10 minutes as the two women tried to beat each other at the other's game. Rezai had the temerity to jump on any second serves and had the imagination and skill to pull the champion all over the court. That was enough to earn her the early break but holding on to it proved difficult. As Serena ran away with five consecutive games, the first set was more or less wrapped up. Committing just four unforced errors, she was in charge and seemingly steaming towards the second round.
But Serena is not the only one who has had a miserable year. After losing in the opening round of the Australian Open, Rezai admitted that she and her father had had a huge falling out - her mind had not been on tennis. By the second week of the French Open, she had lodged an official complaint with the police about her father and clearly her personal life was taking precedence over her tennis.
At the same time, the French Tennis Federation offered her some support and the coaching help of Alexia Dechaume. But having extended that coaching partnership until after Wimbledon (it was originally due end after Roland Garros), she fired Dechaume two days before her first match in SW19. Compared with all of that, playing Serena on Centre Court must have seemed like a breeze.
Rezai kept her head and continued doing what came naturally. She kept Serena on the run and, at times, ran the champion to a standstill. Even her fragile serve - she threw in eight double faults - was not going to stop her wrenching the second set from Serena's grasp as the former world No.1 began to fray at the edges. And as Serena's error count rose, so she started to look awfully tired.
Yet it is when she has her back to the wall that Serena is at her most dangerous. She gritted her teeth and glared at Rezai - the Frenchwoman was not going to spoil Serena's return to SW19, not while Serena still had breath in her body. She had been through too much in the past 12 months and she had waited too long for this moment. And so it was that Serena crushed Rezai's serve for a 3-1 lead in the deciding set and then sprinted into the next round.
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