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Serena Williams of the United States celebrates defeating Catherine McNally of the United States during their Women’s Singles second round match on day three of the 2019 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 28, 2019 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
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Serena Williams of the United States celebrates defeating Catherine McNally of the United States during their Women’s Singles second round match on day three of the 2019 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 28, 2019 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Twenty-three time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams is in Australia. She is part of the WTA 500 Yarra Valley Classic. The American star was up against Australia’s Daria Gavrilova and registered a comfortable 6-1 6-4 victory over her opponent. It was their fourth meeting and Serena has maintained a 100% winning record against Daria.
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As the match began, Serena showed no remorse in the opening set and ended up winning 6-1. The 39-year-old capitalized on her opponent’s serve and broke her twice, which put her in the driver’s seat. As the second set began, Williams maintained her composure and held her serve effectively. She managed to get the much-needed break and served out for the match, winning the second set 6-4.
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Serena Williams serves during her match against Venus Williams during Top Seed Open – Day 4 at the Top Seed Tennis Club in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Serena Williams: I felt composed and was in the zone
After the match, the American starlet said, “It feels good to be back in Melbourne… I felt that I was definitely composed, you know in the zone I guess. I’m glad I’ve been able to the things I was working on… It was different going on the whole year without playing in front of the crowds. In Adelaide, it was really good to see that, and I’m looking forward to the upcoming days.”
After the match, Serena’s coach Patrick Mouratoglou complimented her and stated, “On a more serious note, that was a good performance for your first match since Roland Garros. Great job Serena Williams.”
The No.5 seed is through! 😀@serenawilliams takes out Gavrilova, 6-1, 6-4.#YarraValleyWTA pic.twitter.com/BIrWqGIRFZ
— wta (@WTA) February 1, 2021
Serena will now play 2010 Wimbledon semifinalist Tsvetana Pironkova in the next round. The former World No. 1 has beaten her five times over the years. However, at last year’s French Open, the Bulgarian player got a walkover as the American withdrew, citing an Achilles injury.
Serena spoke about Pironkova and said, “It’s important for me just to see what she did, and what I did. I’m always rooting for her. She’s such a great story, and she’s a good person.”
After the WTA event, Serena will look to add to her Grand Slam tally at the Australian Open 2021. She is on 23 titles, one shy of equalling Margaret Court’s record of 24 Majors.
