STANFORD, CALIF. — Earlier this week, a surgically repaired Maria Sharapova said her comeback trail has been filled with “a lot of zigzags.” Serena Williams can relate. While the 13-time Grand Slam titlist — who currently owns an out-of-place/out-of-character ranking of No. 169 — says she's not ready to put a label on her own redemptive return just yet, she knows the road ahead will likely present the occasional zig or zag, too.
“I'm just beginning mine,” said Williams.
On Tuesday night at the Bank of the West Classic, Williams looked in mid-season form, scoring a lopsided 6-0, 6-0 first-round win over the No. 105-ranked Russian-turned-Aussie Anastasia Rodionova, who extended a five-match losing streak. But outside of a few World TeamTennis hit-and-giggles, including split decisions with onetime rival Martina Hingis, Williams had only played six matches in 2011.
“I've personally never taken this much time off,” said Williams, who had been kept off the court for nearly a full calendar year, sidelined by foot surgeries and a life-threatening pulmonary embolism. “It's totally different than any other time I've been off. I've had surgeries, but it's never been this much time.”
Williams out-aced Rodionova 6-2 at the Taube Tennis Center, surrendered just five points on her serve and converted six of nine break-point opportunities in the 47-minute contest. Impressive stuff, considering that Williams admits she's not yet playing at 100 percent.
“I'm still working on that,” said Williams, who will next face Russia’s Maria Kirilenko, a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Germany’s Julia Goerges. “I've only played seven matches. It's still really early on.”
In many ways, her Round of 16 showing at Wimbledon earlier this month felt more like a deep, second-week triumph. And for good reason. The woman who has already overcome so much — a plethora of injuries, the infamous Indian Wells last stand of ’01, the death of her half-sister Yetunde in ’03, etc. — had now bounced back from a near-death scare.
“It all prepared me for this,” she said. “This is just a whole different level. I've been in the hospital before, but this is a totally different level of comeback from the bottom to, hopefully, the top.”
And the road winds on.
NOTEBOOK
WEDDING BELLS: Maria Kirilenko called Elena Dementieva's nuptials (the now-retired Russian married longtime boyfriend Maxim Afinogenov at the Ritz Carlton in Moscow on July 16) “the best wedding” she had ever been to. Also in attendance were Dinara Safina, Igor Andreev (Kirilenko's boyfriend), Vera Zvonareva, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Ekaterina Makarova and Vera Dushevina, who caught the bride's bouquet. The highlight?: Dementieva and Afinogenov, a professional hockey player, teamed up to sing a touching duet, receiving rave reviews.
DEPTH OF FIELD: With the current wide-open, anything-goes state of the WTA Tour, Sam Stosur says as many as 10 players can now be considered bona fide threats at Grand Slams. Said the No. 10-ranked Aussie, “That's just where women's tennis is at the moment. Sometimes we complain if one player keeps winning three out of the four that it's boring. You've got one player who's going to dominate and for sure win. Then you get complaints now that it's wide open and no one can really step up and do things consistently. I think it actually makes for quite a consistent tournament and you see someone like [Petra] Kvitova come out and get a results like she did at Wimbledon.”
MARTINA'S MEMORABLE SUMMER: John McEnroe's 5-4 win over lifetime rival Bjorn Borg may have been the match of the year in World TeamTennis action, but Martina Hingis' results should not be overlooked. The Swiss Miss, McEnroe's teammate on the Sportimes, scored wins over Serena Williams (5-3), Melanie Oudin (5-3), Coco Vandeweghe (5-2), Anne Keothavong (5-2), Liezel Huber (5-0), league MVP Arina Rodionova (5-2), former NCAA singles titlist Carly Gullickson (5-0), Yasmin Schnack (5-1) and Jarmila Gajdosova (5-4). The five-time Slam champ's still got it.
QUOTEBOOK
“I've always been able to be a shotmaker. My problem was the consistency, stamina and speed…Now I can play for three hours.” — Marion Bartoli
“Tennis was the last thing on my mind. It wasn't even a thought. You just want to be healthy.” — Serena Williams on her hospitalization and comeback from a pulmonary embolism
