WIMBLEDON, England -- Eleven minutes.
That's how long it took Serena Williams to win a set at Wimbledon on
Wednesday. Her sister Venus wasn't quite as quick but the message from the two
Americans was clear: The Williams sisters are back.
Injury free, smiling freely and enjoying grass-court tennis where they both
should excel, Venus and Serena Williams are into the third round of Wimbledon
and bracketed to meet in the semifinals.
Eighth-seeded Serena, in her first tournament in just over two months as she
nurses a tender left knee back from tendinitis, beat Yvette Basting of the
Netherlands 6-1, 6-0 in only 35 minutes, 24 of which were the first set.
Asked if it took longer to bead her hair -- which she didn't do for this
match - she replied sheepishly: "Yes."
Fifth-seeded Venus, playing only her fourth tournament of the year and her
first on grass, took almost twice as long to beat Ai Sugiyama of Japan 6-1,
6-4, and looked free of the tendinitis in both wrists that kept her out for six
months and had her talking retirement.
The only thing that flustered Venus on Wednesday was the speed of her
sister's match.
"It was unbelievable. I don't know what happened," she said, pausing to
note it may not be a family record.
"I think I've had one in 30 minutes."
Serena, who took two months off last year and then returned to win the U.S.
Open, figures she could do it here, too, after missing Wimbledon last season
with an injury.
"Just because I had two months off doesn't mean anything at all," she
said. What she liked best was admiring her own serve, which delivered nine aces
in her brief match.
"I was popping it today," said the 18-year-old American. "It was amazing.
Sometimes I just had to pinch myself. That's how it was going at the (U.S.)
Open. I'm glad that it's back. I love just to pop them like that."
Compared to her 20-year-old sister, Serena may have the better game for
grass-court tennis. Venus holds a 3-1 edge facing her sister on all surfaces.
"I like the grass. It suits my game. I have a fast-paced game. I have a
nice serve. I can serve and volley. I can stay at the baseline. I have an
overall game. I think this is the surface for me," Serena said.
As for Venus, no more talk of retirement.
"I don't know," she said. "When you're real good at something, it's tough
to say goodbye. Especially if it's something you've done all your life. I
suppose I'll be around a little while more. No more retirement scares at this
point."
As for the girls' father? Richard Williams will continue to coach them both
despite some criticism they're successful despite his tutoring.
"If I change my dad as coach, I can't think of anyone else that I would
want to get or that I could get along with for more than two weeks," Venus
said.
AP NEWS
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