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WIMBLEDON, England – The return to Wimbledon should bring some happy memories for Serena Williams, seven-time world champion here.
Instead, the swirling winds on Monday on No. 1 Court reminded Williams of his latest shocking defeat: against 72nd- Madison Brengle's ranked in Auckland, New Zealand, there are more from one year.
Although visibly frustrated by conditions and his own game, Williams dominated in five sets against Arantxa Rus, 7-5, 6-3. in his first game at the All England Club since 2016.
"I feel like I'm maybe too anxious and too much playing," said Williams, who is ranked 25th. "But by the end, I was definitely calmer, I was just doing my pictures, I was just playing a quieter game.I have the impression that everything worked."
Williams s & rsquo; Is committed to being nicer to herself, but she admitted that her dissatisfaction took hold of a match that included 29 unforced errors.
"Not only am I miserable. expect to win to win with emphasis, "she said," sometimes I put too much pressure on myself. "
Some parts of Williams' game were promising, and after a pectoral wound affected his movement of service and When forced to break out of the French Open, Williams was able to serve as fast as 115 miles per hour on Monday, his hopes of advancing on the grass by gaining an advantage in a rally were also keen.
Williams's hopes improved further on Monday, when Elina Svitolina, the fifth-seeded, who appeared e as a possible opponent in the third round, lost to 57th rank. Second placed Tatjana Maria
In the second round on Wednesday, Williams will face Viktoriya Tomova, 135th, qualified.
Results were mixed for other US seeds on Monday. Ninth-seeded Venus Williams won 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-1 over Johanna Larsson of Sweden. # 10 Madison Keys beat Ajla Tomljanovic, 6-4, 6-2. Number 16 CoCo Vandeweghe, whose solid service propelled him into the second week of Wimbledon for three consecutive years, suffered an injury to the ankle and lost 6-7 (3), 6- 3, 8-6 to Katerina Siniakova.
Wimbledon's top ranked American, Sloane Stephens, seeded number 4, has no next round to look forward to, as his Grand Slam results continue to alternate between feast and starvation.
Last year, she lost Wimbledon round, and then won the United States Open. His next Grand Slam tournament, the Australian Open in January, ended in another first-round loss.
In his first game since last month's Roland Garros final, Stephens fell 6-1, 6-3 to 55th overall Donna Vekic
Stephens was pleased with his preparations for Wimbledon, saying that she had done more than usual in her training block after the French Open, even though she had not participated in a warm up on grass field
felt good in my skin, the way I played, "said Stephens. "Clearly, a little confidence emerges from a French Open final, as any player would, but, yeah, just today was unfortunate, unlucky." played a good player on the grass.It's hard. "
Stephens struggled to find his range in swirling winds, hitting 26 unforced errors. She also appeared to be asleep in the more defensive equipment that she used to make the effect on the slower clay of Roland Garros.
Stephens was put under pressure quickly in the match by Vekic, a 22-year-old Croatian who has had some of his best results on the grass. Vekic has already been very tight against the best Wimbledon players, losing to Venus Williams in 2016 and 10-8 in the third set against Johanna Konta last year.
Vekic made a tremendous comeback six years ago, reaching the final Her trajectory had slowed considerably, but she made steady progress this year under the tutelage of her new coach, Torben Beltz, who coached Angelique Kerber to two Grand Slam titles and ranked first in 2016.
"I think the path to being a top player is not so easy," Beltz said. "Even if you're good when you're young, it still takes a lot of sacrifices and work, that's for sure.I think she's on the right track.It's not even top 10 or top 20, but I think with her game she can do it, for sure, some players get there fast, some need more time. "
Beltz said that He was relieved that Vekic was able to gain a victory over a top player after several close calls in recent tournaments.
"She was playing well but could not win the matches," he said. "It's good for her to know that she can beat that kind of player," he said.
Beltz also cited the positive influence of another man in his life: Stan Wawrinka, triple Grand Slam champion of Vekic. He has been dating Wawrinka for at least three years.
"Stan is a champion – a great champion – and that helps if you spend time with him or talk to him," said Beltz. "Even for me, it's very nice to talk to Stan, and it helps."
Vekic has been crowned for many Wawrinka triumphs, including his most recent Grand Slam title at the 2016 US Open.
some tips when I have big matches, when I I feel nervous, "said Vekic. "He was there, so it helps me a lot."
"There is no trickery," she added. "For me, it's just enough to hug before a game, before going out."
Wawrinka, now 224th after prolonged injuries due to a knee injury, managed the most the big game of the day for the men, beating Grigor Dimitrov, sixth seed, 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5), 6-4.
Wawrinka lost four of his Six games against Dimitrov, but has grown in confidence while Dimitrov has continued a difficult series in which he has only won three matches since the beginning of May.
Wawrinka said that he has watched Vekic's game on television before coming to the club to prepare for his own match.
"It was a good day for us at the office," he said. "It's certain."
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