Sport
Serena Williams begins year on winning note – victorious in Brisbane
Serena Williams wins in Brisbane
(Reuters) – Serena Williams felt she was close to accessing the sporting “zone” during her emphatic 6-2 6-1 victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the final of the Brisbane International on Saturday.
Williams needed only 51 minutes to beat the Russian in an ominous warm-up for the Australian Open, which begins in Melbourne on January 14.
“I’ve been in the zone a few times,” Williams told reporters.
“I don’t know if I was in the zone today, but I was definitely heading in that direction. I’ve been in the twilight zone before, where I just felt so good I couldn’t do anything wrong.”
Williams’ performance was so strong that Pavlyuchenkova said afterwards: “I always feel like I don’t know how to play tennis when I play against you.”
Williams captured the 47th title of her career. She has won 35 of her past 36 matches while claiming Wimbledon, the Olympics, the US Open, the season-ending tour championship and now the opening event of 2013.
The 31-year-old American roared through the Brisbane tournament without the loss of a set.
