French Open: Serena Williams returns to grand slam in black body suit
New mum Serena Williams makes her return to grand slam tennis as memorable as her body-hugging “warrior’’ black suit.
A marvel on the tennis court, new mum Serena Williams is now sporting her own superhero outfit as she makes her return to grand slam tennis.
“I call it like my Wakanda-inspired catsuit. It’s really fun,” the American laughed, referencing the fictional Sub-Saharan African nation that is home to superhero Black Panther in Marvel Comics following her opening round victory over Kristyna Pliskova at the French Open overnight.
“I feel like a warrior in it, like a warrior princess kind of, queen from Wakanda maybe.
“I’m always living in a fantasy world. I always wanted to be a superhero, and it’s kind of my way of being a superhero. I feel like a superhero when I wear it.”
Behind the jokes, there is also a more serious reason for the choice of skin-tight bodysuit outfit for the American, who only had first child, a daughter, last September.
Williams has spoken about health concerns over blood clots in the days after giving birth, and said: “Yeah, the catsuit, I had a lot of problems with my blood clots, and, God, I don’t know how many I have had in the past 12 months.
“So it is definitely a little functionality to it. I have been wearing pants in general a lot when I play so I can keep, you know, the blood circulation going.
“It’s a fun suit, but it’s also functional so I can be able to play without any problems.”
The 36-year-old downed Kristyna Pliskova of the Czech Republic 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 to register her first victory at the majors since her 2017 Australian Open triumph.
“I missed Roland Garros so much, I missed the battle,” Williams, the 2002, 2013 and 2015 champion, said after playing her first clay court match since finishing runner-up to Garbine Muguruza in the 2016 final on the same Philippe Chatrier Court.
“It’s been two years since I played here. It wasn’t easy but I have been training really hard. I feel good and just so happy to be back here.”
As Williams — and her eye-catching outfit — grabbed the headlines, there were wins but a few scares for 10-time champion Rafael Nadal and two-time winner Maria Sharapova.
Nadal racked up his 80th win in Paris by seeing off Italian lucky loser Simone Bolelli 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (11/9).
Sharapova, playing the tournament for the first time in three years after missing 2016 through a doping ban and last year when she was refused a wildcard, battled from a 0-3 deficit in the final set to beat Dutch qualifier Richel Hogenkamp 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.
Williams, the winner of an Open era record 23 Grand Slam titles, had arrived at Roland Garros with just four matches under her belt in 2018, the last of which was in Miami in March.
Having been off the tour to give birth to daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian in September, many in the sport wondered if she would still be a contender at the majors especially with her ranking at 451.
However, she gave a stinging response to the doubters even if her win over the 70th-ranked Pliskova tested the American.
Arriving on Philippe Chatrier Court in the black catsuit, offset with a pinkish-red waistband, Williams trailed 0/3 in the first-set tie-breaker.
The three-time champion then fell 0-2 behind in the second set and was forced to retrieve another break to level at 4-4.
She saved three break points in an eight-minute-plus 10th game before taking victory, setting up a second-round clash with Australia’s Ashleigh Barty.
The only consolation for Pliskova, the twin sister of world number six Karolina, was finishing with 15 aces, the most hit against Williams since such records began to be kept in 2008.
Nadal ‘suffered’
World number one Nadal had been two sets up but 0-3 down in the third to Bolelli when rain caused the tie to be suspended on Monday.
He quickly levelled at 3-3 overnight, saved four break points in the eighth game before saving four set points in the breaker.
The top seed eventually claimed victory on a third match point when Bolelli dumped a forehand into the net.
Nadal, bidding for an 11th title in Paris and his 17th major, next faces Argentina’s Guido Pella for a place in the last 32.
“I really suffered today but it was a good test,” said Nadal who had been in danger of dropping his first set at Roland Garros since his 2015 quarter-final loss to Novak Djokovic.
Sharapova also survived a serious scare to claim a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Hogenkamp, ranked 133.
Sharapova, the 28th seed, will face Croatia’s Donna Vekic in the second round. “I love the challenge of being in a Grand Slam draw and figuring out a way to win,” Sharapova said after a match that was also pushed back from Monday due to thunderstorms.
The 31-year-old, five-time major champion, took just 24 minutes to win the first set of a match which was delayed from Monday due to thunderstorms, but threw away a 3-1 lead in the second.
Sharapova was staring down the barrel of falling at first hurdle in a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since the 2010 Australian Open when trailing 3-0 in the third, but the former world number one dug deep and reeled off six straight games to edge into round two.
The Russian, who was Paris champion in 2012 and 2014, fired 35 winners in her victory on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Third seed Marin Cilic reached the second round with a 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (7/4) win over Australia’s James Duckworth.
Fellow former US Open champion, and Argentine fifth seed, Juan Martin del Potro, a semi-finalist in 2009, recovered from a poor first set to beat Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 1-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.
Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov eased to a 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Australian John Millman in his first ever main-draw French Open match.
Third seed and 2016 champion Garbine Muguruza defeated 2009 winner Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6 (7/0), 6-2.
World number one Simona Halep, twice a runner-up, had her opener against Alison Riske, the 83rd-ranked American, put back to Wednesday.
Australian men wipe-out
No Australian man has made the French Open singles second round for only the second time in almost 70 years.
Women’s big guns Barty, Samantha Stosur and Daria Gavrilova must fly the flag after Australia’s Davis Cup stars suffered just their second first- round wipe-out in Paris since 1949.
Nick Kyrgios’s 11th-hour withdrawal with an elbow injury and a wretched draw for his support cast conspired to deliver the disastrous showing. The forgettable display is a repeat of Wimbledon last year, when Australia endured its equal-worst men’s campaign since World War II.
The last time Australia’s men fired a blank at Roland Garros was 2011 when Bernard Tomic was flying solo in the singles draw and lost to Argentine Carlos Berlocq in the opening round.
Teenage wildcard Alex de Minaur was the last Australian man to fall, the 19-year-old succumbing 6-2 6-4 6-3 to British 16th seed Kyle Edmund. De Minaur joined Bernard Tomic, Jordan Thompson, Matt Ebden, John Millman and James Duckworth in failing to progress past round one.
Australian No.1 Nick Kyrgios didn’t even start after withdrawing on the eve of his much-anticipated first-time confrontation with Tomic with an elbow injury. It was left to Barty, Stosur and Gavrilova to save Australia’s blushes. Barty, the 17th seed, blasted past Russian Natalia Vikhlyantseva 6-3 6-1 in just 64 minutes to set up a showcourt blockbuster with returning legend Williams.
Stosur powered into the second round for the 12th straight year with a 6-2 6-4 victory over former US Open semi-finalist Yanina Wickmayer.
Unseeded for the first time in Paris for the first time in a decade, Stosur clubbed 21 winners, five aces and broke Wickmayer five times in another typically strong start to her 14th Open campaign.
The four-time semi-finalist and 2010 runner-up’s victory set up a second-round clash with her doubles partner, Russian 30th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. A third-round showdown with 2016 champion Garbine Muguruza looms large after the Spanish third seed also scored an impressive straight-sets victory on Tuesday - 7-6 (7-0) 6-2 over 2009 winner Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Gavrilova battled back from a set and a service break down to defeat Romanian Sorana Cirstea 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 for her first win at Roland Garros in three years.
The 24th seed Gavrilova next plays American Bernarda Pera.
Victories for Barty, Stosur and Gavrilova finally restored some pride to Australian tennis following the mass exodus of the men, as well as Ajla Tomljanovic on day one.
Earlier on Tuesday, Millman lost 7-5 6-4 6-2 to Canadian prodigy Denis Shapovalov after holding service breaks in the first two sets on Court Suzanne- Lenglen.
Continuing his comeback from foot surgery, Duckworth put up a fight against third seed Marin Cilic before bowing out 6-3 7-5 7-6 (7-4) to the 2018 Australian Open finalist and 2017 Wimbledon runner-up.
And resuming his match that was suspended at two sets a piece on Monday night due to thunderstorms, Ebden eventually lost 6-4 5-7 6-2 3-6 6-2 to Italian Thomas Fabbiano.
Women’s wildcard Isabelle Wallace’s grand-slam main-draw debut lasted just 52 minutes with the 21-year-old crashing to a 6-1 6-0 loss to Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck.
AAP, Reuters, AFP
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