Sport
China Open: Serena Williams advances to second round
Serena Williams signs autographs for fans after defeating Silvia Soler-Espinosa of Spain at their first round of China Open, Monday, Sept. 29, 2014. PHOTO/Vincent Thian/AP
WTA no. 1 Serena Williams narrowly avoided a bagel against Spains Silvia Soler-Espinosa, then won 13 of the next 15 games to pull out a 7-5, 6-2 victory Monday in the first round of the China Open.
Williams looked lethargic and flat-footed at the start, pushing the ball back without much pace or direction and occasionally shanking groundstrokes several feet out. After only 15 minutes, she had already dropped serve three times and fallen behind 5-0.
Just as quickly as she gave up such a big lead, however, Williams turned it around. In the next game, the 18-time major winner saved a set point and broke Soler-Espinosa to finally get on the board.
“I didn’t want to lose 6-love,” Williams said. “I just started fighting. I was like, just let me at least try to break here.”
Soler-Espinosa had another set point on Williams’s serve in the following game, but the American saved it with a cross-court backhand winner at the net and cruised the rest of the way.
Williams routinely doles out the bagels in matches, but she’s rarely on the receiving end of one. The last player to win a 6-0 set against her was another Spaniard, Anabel Medina Garrigues, in Madrid last year. Williams came back to win that match, too, 6-3, 0-6, 7-5.
After the match, Williams said she had not been sure she’d be healthy enough to play in Beijing after pulling out of a match against Alize Cornet with dizziness and nausea last week at the Wuhan Open.
“I just started hitting a couple days ago, taking it day by day. Finally I decided I’m here, I may as well see what happens,” Williams said. “I’m feeling a lot better.”
It was the latest health issue to sidetrack Williams this year. She also pulled out of a Wimbledon doubles match citing health concerns.