Serena Williams admits to nerves in face of breezy Wimbledon return

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James Benge2 July 2018

Serena Williams refused to be blown off course on her return to Wimbledon but admitted that the blustery conditions on Court No.1 had posed her a challenge she had not been accustomed to for some time.

Seven-time SW19 champion Williams did not have her things all her own way in her first match at Wimbledon since the birth of her daughter Alexis Olympia, though ultimately she overcame Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands in straight sets.

The swirling wind on Court No.1 was as tough a challenge for Williams as her opponent and led to some relatively wayward serving from the 36-year-old, who began the match with a double fault and managed to get only 58 per cent of her first serves in play compared to the 73 per cent of her opponent.

“You know, I haven't played a tremendous amount of tennis since I had the baby,” Williams said. "And I haven't played in wind in a really long time. So I'm just not used to that yet.

“It was really windy for me today. I just wasn't quite used to that level of wind. Something that I would normally be okay with, normally have, Oh, this is this. It's just getting all back to the hang of things, getting used to different circumstances.

“Looking back I mean, at the time I wasn't happy. But looking back, I'm glad I had that win. In the future I'll be able to play a little bit better.

“I feel like definitely towards the end [I improved]. More than anything, I just was trying to be more calm. I wanted to do so well. Sometimes that works against you sometimes. I feel like I maybe was just overly anxious and overly, like, over-trying, overdoing it.

“But towards the end, I definitely was more calm, just making my shots, just playing a more serene game. I feel like it worked out.”

US player Serena Williams
AFP/Getty Images

Since her return to the game following her pregnancy Williams has expressed a desire to be more kind to herself but that was hardly evident on her return to competition at Wimbledon, just the fourth tournament she has featured in in 2018.

Williams bemoaned her unforced errors as loudly as she ever has in the past and hardly seemed in jubilant mood after a hard-fought 7-5 win in the first set.

“In the moment you want to do so well, you want to win,” she conceded. “I have such high expectations of myself. I expect to go out there. I expected to win this match. I don't go out there expecting to do well, see what happens. That's just not me.

“Not only do I expect to win, I expect to win emphatically. Sometimes, like I said, I put too much pressure on myself, I'm overanxious. It's really just about learning that balance for me still.”

Williams, who was forced to pull out of the French Open with an injured arm, added: “I took a lot of time off with serving. I didn't serve at all. I took some time off of tennis, as well. I just started serving when I got here.

“But I think, as time will go on, it will get better. My arm is doing much better. My serve is a little playing catch-up, but it's doing better than I could have hoped, to be honest.

“It's all on the right track.”

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