Serena Williams returns a shot during her match Tuesday night against qualifier Eleni Daniilidou. Williams won 6-3, 6-4.
Shannon Russell reports:
Serena Williams’ biggest obstacle Tuesday night was herself.
The American had more unforced errors (44) than winners (32) in a 6-3, 6-4 victory over qualifier Eleni Daniilidou at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason.
The Western & Southern Open’s second-seeded player squandered 10 break point conversions and expressed audible frustration before polishing off the win in 92 minutes.
“I had 44 unforced errors. That’s shocking. It’s unprofessional,” Williams said afterward. “Hopefully I can clean up my act for my next match.”
She has a day to regroup. The WTA’s fourth-ranked player faces one of two qualifiers – Yaroslava Shvedova or Urszula Radwanska – when she plays again Thursday.
Williams said she was glad to get the match under her belt in her transition back to hard courts. She has spent a good deal of time lately competing at the All England Club, from her Wimbledon title to her Olympic singles and doubles gold-medal ascents.
Daniilidou’s last four tournaments have been on hard courts. The Greek player’s quickness in Tuesday’s match bothered Williams as much as the surface.
Nothing seemed to feel right for Williams throughout. Not her long ponytail, which she fashioned into a bun during a break in the action. Not even her racquet strings.
“My racquets were just so not right today. I couldn’t hit my shots the way I wanted to because they kept flying,” Williams said. “I ended up playing longer rallies, which is fine, but I have to have my strings strung right. It just was not strung right.”
No. 121 Daniilidou double faulted nine times and won only 10 of her 29 second serve points. But she didn’t go quietly, holding serve after Williams jumped ahead 5-3 in the second set.
Williams did the same to ensure the win.
