Serena recovers but Venus eclipsed
Print Edition
Serena Williams overcame what she described as one of her worst sets before beating qualifier Eugenie Bouchard of Canada 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 on Wednesday in her opening match at the Western & Southern Open.
“So it was just some crazy tennis out there,” she said.
Older sister Venus Williams lost her second match of the tournament, falling to Russia’s Elena Vesnina 2-6, 7-5, 2-6. The 33-year-old Williams is slowly working back into shape after missing most of the summer because of a lower back injury. Cincinnati was only her second event since the French Open.
The top seeds advanced on a windy and cooler-than-usual afternoon. No. 1 Novak Djokovic had a ragged first set while beating Juan Monaco 7-5, 6-2, leaving him unbeaten from eight matches against the Argentine.
The Serb has never won in Cincinnati, the only one of the nine Masters series events that has eluded him. No player has won all nine, so he’s got a chance for something notable — if he can get accustomed to the conditions quickly enough.
“As the matches go on, you kind of have to find your way and your rhythm,” Djokovic said.
Wimbledon champion Andy Murray had an easy time in his opening match at the tournament, which he has won twice. The second-seeded Briton, who is also the defending US Open champion, needed only 69 minutes to beat Russian Mikhail Youzhny 6-2, 6-3.
In a night match, fourth seed Rafael Nadal of Spain beat German Benjamin Becker 6-2, 6-2, running his streak to 11 straight wins on hardcourts.
Former French Open champion Li Na rallied past American Lauren Davis 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 after a shaky start to her week.
No. 6 Sara Errani of Italy defeated Slovenia’s Polona Hercog 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 while 12th seed Roberta Vinci, also of Italy, won a struggle with German Andrea Petkovic 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-3.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
