Williams sisters win openers
WIMBLEDON, England – The asphalt courts at the public park where Serena Williams and Angela Haynes learned to swing a racket and the patch of grass where they engaged in a riveting Grand Slam match Tuesday are separated by thousands of miles and so much more.
Yet there they were, the seven-time major champion Williams and the unheralded Haynes, trading powerful groundstrokes and grunts. Haynes practiced beside Williams in Compton, Calif., in the 1980s, looked up to her in recent years, and led her for the better part of two hours in the first round at Wimbledon.
Eventually, Williams’ experience and knack for coming back – not to mention her shotmaking – were too much for the 104th-ranked Haynes in her All England Club debut. So reigning Australian Open champion Williams squeaked by with a 6-7 (12), 6-4, 6-2 victory, avoiding the sort of upset that befell French Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne earlier in the day.
Just as accustomed as Williams is to rallying from big deficits in big matches, Henin-Hardenne couldn’t manage it this time, losing 7-6 (8), 2-6, 7-5 to 76th-ranked Eleni Daniilidou. That made her the first French Open women’s champion in 43 years to drop her opening match at Wimbledon.
“Playing on clay and then coming here, it’s so different,” the seventh-seeded Henin-Hardenne said. “You change everything.”
Williams skipped the French Open with a left ankle sprain that has sidelined her since May 11. She called her play against Haynes “rusty,” adding that she “kind of felt like I was feeling my way around.”
Back when the Williams sisters were playing final after final against each other in the majors, it would have been a bit out of the ordinary to see them play on Court 2 at the All England Club, a step below the more prestigious Centre Court and Court 1.
Venus Williams – the 2000-01 Wimbledon champion but seeded merely 14th this year – had a much easier time, defeating Eva Birnerova 6-2, 6-4. The court has become known as “The Graveyard of Champions” because of a litany of upsets; Pete Sampras lost his last Wimbledon match there in 2002’s second round, for example.
“It didn’t enter my mind,” Serena said, “because I just felt that I had to be better than the myths.”
Henin-Hardenne didn’t play a match between claiming her fourth Slam title at Roland Garros and coming to Wimbledon, in part because of a right hamstring injury, and in part because she’s committed to taking extra rest after a virus sidelined her in 2004.
Henin-Hardenne double-faulted 11 times – twice in the final game.
Rafael Nadal, the 19-year-old Spaniard who won the French Open in his debut, got off to a solid start at Wimbledon, a 6-4, 6-3, 6-0 victory over Vince Spadea.