Serena Williams back to winning ways

The
American
beat
Nuria
Parrizas-Diaz
6-3,
6-4
in
the
opening
round
of
the
Toronto
Open
for
her
first
victory
since
turning
40.

Serena
looked
impressive
as
she
beat
her
Spanish
opponent
in
just
under
two
hours.

She
even
earned
a
standing
ovation
when
facing
break
point
in
the
fourth
game
of
the
second
set,
as
she
worked
hard
to
stay
in
the
point
before
smashing
a
trademark
forehand
winner
to
save
the
game.

Serena,
whose
last
Grand
Slam
title
came
in
2017
at
the
Australian
Open,
will
face
either
number
12
seed
Belinda
Bencic
or
Tereza
Martincova
in
the
second
round.

The
23-time
Grand
Slam
champion
is
competing
in
the
tournament
as
part
of
preparations
for
the
US
Open,
and
sealed
her
first
win
since
splitting
with
coach
Patrick
Mouratoglou.

After
her
first
singles
match
win
in
430
days,
Serena
said
she
is
getting
closer
to
the
light
at
the
end
of
the
tunnel.

Serena
had
returned
from
a
one-year
absence
at
Wimbledon
last
month
after
recovering
from
injury,
but
was
beaten
by
Harmony
Tan
in
the
first
round.

“I
guess
there’s
just
a
light
at
the
end
of
the
tunnel,”
she
said.
“I
don’t
know,
I’m
getting
closer
to
the
light,
so…
lately
that’s
been
it
for
me.
I
can’t
wait
to
get
to
that
light.”

When
asked
what
“the
light”
means
to
her,
she
responded
“freedom”.

“I
love
playing
though,
so
it’s
like,
amazing,”
she
added.
“But,
you
know,
I
can’t
do
this
forever.

“Sometimes
you
just
want
to
try
your
best
to
enjoy
the
moments,
and
do
the
best
that
you
can.”

Serena
became
just
the
fourth
player
since
2000
to
win
a
WTA-Tour
level
main-draw
match
after
turning
40,
along
with
Martina
Navratilova,
Kimiko
Date-Krumm
and
her
sister
Venus
Williams.

It
also
gave
her
the
all-time
lead
for
wins
at
the
Canadian
Open
in
the
Open
Era,
this
being
her
35th
victory
at
the
event
to
break
her
tie
with
Chris
Evert.

The
duo
had
worked
together
for
10
years,
before
Mouratoglou
revealed
they
had
gone
their
separate
ways
in
April
after
Williams
decided
not
to
compete
at
the
French
Open,
with
Mouratoglou
moving
on
to
train
Simona
Halep
instead.

Serena
Williams
named
among
US
Open
entry
list
with
protected
rankings

Serena
returned
to
action
after
almost
a
year
away
from
the
game
in
the
WTA
event
in
Eastbourne
in
June
in
the
women’s
doubles,
before
competing
in
the
singles
at
Wimbledon,
losing
to
Harmony
Tan
in
an
exciting
first
round
contest
on
Centre
Court
at
SW19

She
has
been
named
on
the
entry
list
for
the
US
Open
having
pulled
out
of
last
year’s
tournament
with
a
torn
hamstring,
entering
with
a
protected
ranking
of
16.

The
US
Open,
the
last
Grand
Slam
of
the
season
will
be
held
from
August
29
to
September
11
at
the
Flushing
Meadows
in
New
York.

Serena
has
also
been
named
among
the
initial
entry
list
for
August’s
Cincinnati
Masters
as
she
returns
to
the
US
Open
Series.

“When
you’re
at
home,
especially
in
New
York,
and
the
US
Open,
that
being
the
first
place
I’ve
won
a
Grand
Slam,
is
something
that’s
always
super
special.
There’s
definitely
lots
of
motivation
to
get
better
and
to
play
at
home,”
Serena
had
said
about
the
US
Open.