Daily Times
May 17, 2021
Parma: Serena Williams brushed aside the challenge of local teenager Lisa Pigato in the opening round of the WTA tournament in Parma on Monday.
Williams, ranked eighth in the world, beat the 572nd-ranked Pigato, making her WTA debut, 6-3, 6-2 in the first meeting between the two players.
The 39-year-old American had been given a wild card to play in Parma after her premature exit from the Italian Open, where she crashed out in the second round in what was her first match in nearly three months since her semi-final defeat in the Australian Open.
Williams, who had already won five Grand Slam tournaments by the time Pigato was born, made a sluggish start as the 17-year-old came up with three glorious winners to break the 23-time Grand Slam champion in the first game.
Serena rolls to 1st victory since Aussie Open By www.espn.com - TOP
May 17, 2021 | 9:02 AM
Serena Williams earned her first victory in more than three months by beating 17-year-old qualifier Lisa Pigato 6-3, 6-2 Monday in the first round of the Emilia-Romagna Open. ); } return false; }); $( #comments .commentlist .comment-content a ).attr( target , blank );
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Williams hadn’t won since beating Simona Halep in the Australian Open quarterfinals in February. She was eliminated from the year’s first Grand Slam tournament by Naomi Osaka in the semifinals. After some time off, Williams then lost in straight sets in Rome to Nadia Podoroska, a French Open semifinalist last year. Williams is preparing for Roland Garros, which starts in two weeks. Her previous win on clay came in the first round of last year’s tournament in Paris. It was the first WTA tour match for Pigato and the 1,001st for Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam champion.
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