Doubles trouble for Williams sisters

“I was just happy to be here after what I went through in the past two-three weeks. In the second set, I stopped making errors, and the ball was not flying as much as it was in the first. I couldn’t get into a rhythm. There were a lot of bad line calls too, I had some issues with those,” said Serena.

The Israeli may have fancied her chances just a little bit prior to her encounter with the eight-time Grand Slam singles champion, perhaps counting on Serena’s absence from the game since the Australian Open to spill a little luck her way. She was granted her wish as Serena opened with a double fault and a break of serve, but Obziler failed to keep up her end of the bargain.

Neither player could hold serve till the fifth game, and Serena did not look like a former world No 1. There were occasional glimpses of the backhand that once silenced so many in Grand Slam finals, and a few of those, though, did happen to come at the right time. Like the return she hit at 0-40, 6-5 on Obziler’s serve. It won her the first set, and some breathing room.

The second set could not have been more different. The inconsistencies of the first were a distant memory, and it appeared as though Serena wanted to make up for lost time. She was powering through, with an occasional fist-pump and a ‘come on!’, and Obziler must have guessed time was short. Two backhands ended this match — a screaming winner from the American’s racket, and a tired error from Obziler.

Next up for the younger Williams is Russia’s Anastasia Rodionova, who shocked sixth seed Sybille Bammer of Austria 7-6, 6-2. Fourth seed Patty Schnyder of Switzerland just about made it, coming back from behind to defeat Japan’s Aiko Nakamura 6-7, 6-4, 6-2.