Winning start for the Williams sister on the home soil.
SERENA
She didn’t have a great match, but it was enough against the qualifier and world no.121. Serena had to overcome 42 unforced error to win this match in 92 minutes. I think I’ll be OK just getting that match under my belt,” Serena Williams said. “I had (many) unforced errors. That’s shocking. It’s unprofessional. Hopefully I can clean up my act for my next match.”
As soon as Serena adjustes to the hard court, she won’t have the same problems.
VENUS
Venus had a very good match with the seed no.12 Maria Kirilenko to win in 2h and 23 minutes.
“I’m doing a lot better than this time last year,” she said. “So much better than a couple months ago as well. I also am learning to deal with everything a lot better. If I wake up and I don’t feel great, then I would panic and lose my match 2-1. Now I realize that I just kind of hang in there if I’m not having the best day and still try to get the win.”
Talking about the US Open she commented “Of course I’m excited about the Open,” she said. “I know I can play great tennis. I need some more matches, obviously, and I need to execute out there on the court, and I need to feel halfway decent.
So there are a lot of things that have to fall in place for me, maybe more than other players. But I’m up for the challenge.”
Venus will play for the first time Scheepers from South Africa in the next round.
