Serena Williams Tops Kristyna Pliskova in 2018 French Open 1st Round
Serena Williams started her bid to win the 2018 French Open with a straight-sets victory over Kristyna Pliskova, 7-6(4), 6-4, at Roland Garros on Tuesday.
Williams, who entered the tournament unseeded after being away from the tour on maternity leave, played on Philippe-Chatrier Court in her first French Open match since losing the 2016 final to Garbine Muguruza.
She'll face 17th seed Ashleigh Barty in Round 2.
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Williams built a 2-1 lead in the opening set on the strength of her serve. In fact, Williams' serve was showing improvement, according to Christopher Clarey of the New York Times:
However, Williams needed to break serve to take the set after Pliskova had battled back to 5-6. Breaking the serve proved too difficult, however, as Pliskova kept Williams guessing, per Clarey's fellow Times writer Ben Rothenberg:
Pliskova had built momentum by taking the set to a tiebreak but found Williams unwilling to relent. Despite falling 3-0 behind, the 36-year-old reeled off six straight points to help take the set.
Fox Sports host Matt Dowell lauded Williams' determination on her return to the rigours of Grand Slam Tennis:
Winning 64 percent of the points available off her first serve proved the ideal platform for Williams to take the set, per the tournament's official website. There was also just a single break point won during the set.
Both players continued to serve well at the start of the second, with the pair sharing 22 aces and splitting the first four games. It was Williams who broke first for a 3-2 lead, only for Pliskova to return the favour and leave her illustrious opponent visibly frustrated.
An increasingly unpredictable set saw Williams break again, the third break in a row and fifth in the set overall. It meant Williams held a slender 4-3 lead but was closing in on victory.
Pliskova appeared rattled as she fell behind 5-3 and lost two points on serve. Although she rescued the game, Pliskova still faced the prospect of Williams serving for the match, an opening the latter eventually took—despite being taken to deuce four times—to progress to Round 2.
Ultimately, it was a typical comeback match for Williams, who looked understandably short on stamina and a little below par at times. Yet she still had the nerve and guile to earn critical points when she needed them.
It was a trying but steady start for Williams, who faces a long road to a fourth title at Roland Garros.
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