Serena Williams plays at the on-going China Open tennis tournament. (Li Zhenyu/People's Daily Online) |
BEIJING, Oct. 2 (People's Daily Online) -- World No. 1 female tennis player Serena Williams advanced in straight sets but in a much difficult match, beating Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 7-5 in 1 hour, 47 minutes in the second round of the China Open tennis tournament at Beijing's National Tennis Centre Tuesday.
Williams, who lost only one game in a win over Schiavone at the U.S. Open, had a much tougher time against the Italian this time. Schiavone held three set points at 5-3 in the second set, but Williams won 15 of the last 17 points to close out the match.
"It didn't surprise me," Williams said at the post-match press conference. "I was definitely more surprised that I played so well in the Open, but it was a different circumstance -- even though the score line looked much easier at the Open, it wasn't an easy match. But as for Francesca playing so well today, I wasn't surprised about that."
Serena Williams' elder sister, former world No. 1 Venus Williams, fell to Sabine Lisicki of Germany 6-1, 6-2 yesterday.
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