Serena Williams, the queen of karaoke, wasn’t in the mood to bid Toronto farewell today.
Dramatically, Williams achieved her first victory since 2021 by clearing her throat and tuning into the muse.
At the National Bank Open in Toronto, Williams earned her first singles victory in over a year and a half by overcoming a tough test from Spanish lucky loser Nuria Parrizas Diaz 6-3, 6-4.
Williams told the media in Toronto, “I mean, it’s only one win, you know, it takes a lot. But like I said, I was pleased to have won. A long time has passed since then. I no longer remember how that felt.
Since defeating Danielle Collins in the third round of the 2021 Roland Garros in May 2021, Williams had not triumphed in a singles match.
Even though the final result seemed straightforward, the former world No. 1 had a challenging day at the workplace as she battled valiantly to win a tight second set.
“I’m doing fine. I thought I performed well today, and I believe that’s all I needed to do,” Williams added. Mentally, I feel like I’m making progress. I’m not in my usual spot, and I’m not in my ideal place.
However, I believe that every game I play, win or lose, aids in my mental preparation.
“Because I haven’t played much in the previous year or two. I believe that truly assists me, so. I feel much better physically during practise, and I carry that over to the court.
However, I’m the type of person for whom it literally just takes one or two things until anything clicks. I’m simply waiting for that to happen now.
The three-time previous champion survived four break points in a difficult 16-minute hold to tie the second set at four all during a steamy, sticky match.
Midway through the routine, Williams was bending over at the waist and taking large breaths of air, but that fierce stand seemed to give her more strength. Williams regained momentum, defended almost all of the Spaniard’s shots, and made some key drives to win the final three games and the match.
The 41-year-old superstar had rust-related indicators 22 years after making her tournament debut. Williams wasn’t winning as many free points on her renowned serve as we’re used to seeing from her at times, and her 31-year-old opponent was pushing her into defensive positions at times.
On crucial points, Williams yet played some of her most forceful tennis. In her first singles match since losing to 115th-ranked Harmony Tan 7-5, 1-6, 7-6(10) in a thrilling and highly exciting Centre Court thriller at Wimbledon, Serena saved seven of eight break points, smacked seven aces, and played with her characteristic passion.
At 1-2 in the second set and facing a break point, Serena called upon her inner warrior. Williams careened from corner to corner before unleashing a laser forehand winner and raising a clenched fist to the Toronto crowd after an intense exchange between the two player.
That brilliant strike prevented a break and sparked a cheer from the crowd. Williams, who was heated up, battled through a taxing hold to tie the game after four games.
Praise Parrizas Diaz for keeping up the pressure even if the former No. 1 was hitting her groundstrokes bigger at that time.
When Williams was forced into a corner to defend the Spaniard’s two-handed backhand, Parris Diaz would occasionally drive her backhand down the line for clean victories.
In the sixth game, Williams was given another break point, but she managed to hold for 3-3 by hitting her way out of danger.
For the third game in a row, the Spaniard had a break chance, but Williams saved it by smashing a hard serve down the T. Williams faced his fourth break point of the set when he slapped a shot into the centre of the net while unbalanced.
To reverse it, Williams fired a wide serve winner. Williams erased another break point by hitting a forehand that went underneath Parrizas Diaz’s forehand and rolled off the baseline.
Williams was restrained when Parrizas Diaz missed a shot just off the baseline, earning him a sixth break point. As the struggle reached its seventh douce, Williams wiped it away.
Williams scored four points with a backhand in the corner after enduring a 16-minute wait.
The American became even more motivated after that sweaty tussle. Williams defended several Parrizas Diaz drives in the corner before eliciting a floating error and raising a fist toward her box to break the tie at 5-4.
Williams reached match point after a forehand drive volley and a 116 mph serve.
In one hour and 57 minutes, Williams fired a forehand down the line to end a thrilling match.
Williams told Parrizas Diaz, “You played extremely well,” as she moved toward the net for the post-match handshake.
Williams demonstrated how much this moment meant to her by raising her arms in the air to thank the audience.
Williams stated, “I just wanted to be out here today. “Obviously, I enjoy performing outside in Toronto, and I’ve had success doing so in the past. I was merely trying my best out there today.
How well does Serena do versus elite competitors who are 15 and 20 years younger?
When four-time Olympic gold medalist Venus Williams next takes against either reigning gold medalist Belinda Bencic or Czech qualifier Tereza Martincova, further information will become available.
Champions of the Grand Slam had a successful day.
Earlier, Donna Vekic was defeated 6-0, 6-2 by former world No. 1 Simona Halep in a sequence of seven straight games.
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Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina defeated qualifier Marie Bouzkova 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-1 by converting seven of her 22 break-point opportunities. Jelena Ostapenko, a former champion at Roland Garros, defeated Anhelina Kalinina with a score of 6-4, 6-2.
