Serena Williams has won her first tournament at Wimbledon 2018. The American won 7-5, 6-3 against Aranxta Rus from the Netherlands and ensured her 15th Wimbledon victory in a row.
“I didn’t play my best tennis, but I will improve,” Williams said after the match.
Williams had not been as dominant as usual against Rus in the beginning. In the second round she was already trailing 1:3 before she could turn the game again. In the next round, Williams, currently only number 181 in the world rankings, who is seeded 25 by the organisers, will face Tereza Smitkova or Wiktorija Tomowa.
Williams, who has already won the prestigious grass major seven times, is back in London for the first time after her 13-month baby break.
Williams had already made her comeback at Grand Slam level at the French Open at the end of May. After three wins in the first rounds, the 23-time major winner had withdrawn before her round of 16 match against her Russian rival Maria Sharapova due to a chest muscle injury.
Unlike the French Open in Paris, Williams is seeded in Wimbledon and was ranked number 25. Wimbledon 2017 had missed the winner of 23 Grand Slam tournaments due to her pregnancy, two years ago she had won the grass court classic in London.