Her sister already vanquished in the first round of Wimbledon for the first time in her 15-year career, Serena Williams make sure she did not suffer the same fate today.
Playing on the same court at the All Englands Club where Venus Williams, five-time champion, was upset bins straight set by Elena Vesnina, Serena Wiilliams dismissed Barbora Zahlavava-Strycova, 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the second round.
It was clear how much the match meant to the animated Serena, who screamed loudly in frustration after losing points and shouted “Come on!” and pumped her fist after winning big points. She was 46-0 in the first round of Grand Slam tournaments before losing her opening match at this year’s French Open. Throw in her sister’s failure Monday and Serena Williams was hellbent on getting it done.
She seemed to be in control after going up 3-1 and then 5-3 in the second set. But, serving for the match, she was broken back for 5-4. Williams broke again in the next game, letting out another scream after Zahlavova-Strycova struck a forehand long on the second match point.
Williams, who extended her record to 13-0 in first-round matches at Wimbledon, finished with 24 winners and 12 unforced errors, compared to 17 winners and 13 errors for her opponent.
