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WIMBLEDON, England—When last seen in a competitive
setting, Serena Williams was spraying tennis balls
wildly at the French Open—into the net, beyond the
baseline and everywhere, it seemed, except where she was
aiming.
Ousted
in the third-round by a 27th seed, she retreated to her
Palm Beach Gardens home for a few weeks of what she now
characterizes as “Serena recovery,” declining to say
whether that entailed hitting the gym or hitting South
Florida’s high-fashion boutiques.
On
Monday Williams made a smashing return to her sport’s
center stage, striding onto Wimbledon’s hallowed lawn in
a white trench coat she aptly described as “delectable.”
With its belted cinched waist, vent-in back and buckled
sleeves, the retro-styled Mac made the two-time
Wimbledon champion look like an international woman of
intrigue—a racket-wielding Mata Hari.
After a
few minutes spent warming up (the trench coat’s fabric
is fabulously lightweight with plenty of “give,” she
explained), she shed the coat and, with it, any memory
of that dreadful performance on the red clay of Paris. A
mere 77 minutes later, she had sent Estonia’s Kaia
Kanepi packing, 7-5, 6-3, and advanced to Wimbledon’s
second round.
Serena
has come to be known for precisely this over her 13-year
career—playing alternately brilliant and error-prone
tennis, yet demanding to be watched because of her
personal style, singular intensity and unrivaled power.
She
arrives at Wimbledon this year as a sixth seed, though
no player who has faced her thinks that truly reflects
her chances of winning the coveted crown a third time.
The ranking simply reflects her current world ranking,
which suffers from her infrequent participation.
But this
is Wimbledon, the most important of the sport’s four
major titles. And in six of the last eight years, a
woman named Williams has hoisted the trophy. Big sister
Venus Williams won in 2000, 2001, 2005 and 2007; Serena
took the honors in 2002 and 2003.
“We play
our best tennis here,” Serena said Monday. “We try to
capitalize on everything.”
The
sisters are in opposite halves of Wimbledon’s draw this
year, which means they could meet in the final, as they
last did in 2003.
There is
no opponent Venus respects more. “Definitely, I see her
as a player who can produce any shot at any time from
anywhere,” Venus said of Serena on Saturday. “Obviously
it would be great to meet her in the finals, but we have
to work at it.”
Serena’s
major challenge on Monday came in the first set, when
she faced a break point at 5-5.
“It was
huge,” Serena said afterward. “I just kept thinking, ‘I
can’t lose serve.’”
As she
has done so often in Grand Slam events, Serena willed
herself into form, held serve and cruised to the
victory.
But
tactics and will power took a back seat to fashion
during her press conference afterward. The coat demanded
deeper analysis.
“I
absolutely love trench coats!” she gushed. “I’m always
buying Burberry coats. I mean, I love coats! And I don’t
know why, because I live in Florida.”
The idea
to create a trench coat-inspired warmup jacket arose
when she arrived at a meeting with Nike stylists wearing
a fabulous coat of her own, Serena explained. She loved
the idea.
“It’s
ladylike,” she said of the result, “and I’m very
ladylike. It goes perfectly with my personality.”
The
issue of fashion on Wimbledon’s opening day wasn’t
confined to the women’s draw.
Tradition dictates that the defending men’s champion
inaugurate play on Centre Court, and five-time defending
champion Roger Federer once again did so in style. He
strode out sporting a chunky, cream cardigan atop his
tennis togs—a change-up from the tailored blazer he has
worn the last two years. Trimmed in gold and adorned
with a gold crest, the cardigan befitted Federer’s
status as a Wimbledon royal. And as the match unfolded,
the Swiss displayed strokes as immaculate as his garb,
needing just 79 minutes to oust his former practice
partner Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
Federer
is bidding for a sixth consecutive Wimbledon singles
title, which would be a modern record. And though he
suffered a straight-sets thrashing from Rafael Nadal in
the French Open final earlier this month, Federer showed
no ill effects. He never faced a break point against
Hrbaty and scarcely broke a sweat en route to his 60th
consecutive grass-court victory, a streak that dates to
2002.
Also
advancing was third-seeded Novak Djokovic, a 7-5, 2-6,
6-3, 6-0 victor over Germany’s Michael Berrer. On the
women’s side, top-seeded Ana Ivanovic easily handled
Rossana de los Rios of Paraguay, 6-1, 6-2. Venus
Williams opens defense of her title Tuesday, as does
third-seeded Maria Sharapova, who plans to debut
tuxedo-styled shorts for the occasion. |
