Serena set for remarkable Wimbledon return, Swiatek survives scare

LONDON: Serena Williams will return to singles tennis for the first time in four years when the American legend steps onto Centre Court at Wimbledon on Tuesday, after Iga Swiatek started her title defence with a nervy win.

Williams plays a professional singles match for the first time since “evolving away” from tennis in 2022 when she takes on Australian youngster Maya Joint in the first round.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion announced her shock return to the sport earlier this month and has played two doubles matches since, winning one and losing one.

The tie against Joint will be the 44-year-old’s first appearance in singles since losing to Ajla Tomljanovic in the 2022 US Open third round.

“I expect to be nervous. I was also nervous every single match I ever played in my life,” said Williams, who will also play in the doubles alongside older sister Venus.

“I’ve always had some nerves. But then I just dust ’em off, then I move on. I definitely expect to have those same feelings.”

Serena could not have been given a much kinder draw than facing Joint, who has lost 13 of her last 14 matches and slipped to 87th in the WTA rankings.

Williams will become the second-oldest player to feature in the Wimbledon women’s singles in the Open era, after nine-time champion Martina Navratilova who reached the second round aged 47 in 2004.

The American won the last of her seven Wimbledon titles a decade ago and her last Grand Slam triumph came at the 2017 Australian Open, when she was pregnant with her first child.

Swiatek survives scare

First on Centre Court, reigning champion Swiatek recovered from a second-set blip to battle past Taylor Townsend 6-1, 2-6, 6-3.

Last year, she bounced back after losing her French Open crown by romping to a maiden Wimbledon title but she was far from her best 12 months on against Townsend, who was being cheered on courtside by Japanese star Naomi Osaka.

The Pole made 16 unforced errors in a poor second set, but managed to take a tense decider to set up a second-round meeting with former world number one Karolina Pliskova on Thursday.

“I don’t think I won any three-set match this year, so happy to do it here as it means a lot to be opening the court here as defending champion,” said third seed Swiatek after avoiding slipping to only a second first-round Grand Slam defeat of her career.

Amanda Anisimova began her bid to go one better than last year, when she lost the final 6-0, 6-0 to Swiatek, cruising to a straight-sets win on Tuesday against Lina Gjorcheska, the first North Macedonian to ever qualify for a Grand Slam.

After 10 British players were knocked out on Monday, Katie Swan gave the host nation their first win of the tournament by beating Irina-Camelia Begu, although Katie Boulter was knocked out by Grand Slam debutant Tyra Caterina Grant of Italy.

The 18-year-old Grant, who previously competed for the US before switching allegiances, said she “looked up to” Serena Williams as a young child.

“I mean, since I started playing, it was Serena, Serena, Serena,” said Grant, who was born when Serena was already an eight-time Grand Slam champion.

“I’m glad she’s here. I’m glad also today I could play so well.”

Former finalist Jasmine Paolini fought back from losing the first set 6-0 to defeat Robin Montgomery.

Zverev hoping to banish grass demons

Alexander Zverev later plays at a major for the first time since finally ending his long wait for a maiden Grand Slam title at the French Open.

The German has always found life difficult at Wimbledon, though, and has never got past the last 16 in nine previous appearances.

Last year, Zverev was beaten in the first round by Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech and he faces another tough test against Belgian rising star Alexander Blockx.

American sixth seed Taylor Fritz, who reached the semi-finals last year, eased past Dusan Lajovic in straight sets, while fifth seed Alex de Minaur also wasted little time in beating Roman Andres Burruchaga.