Serena Williams on Wednesday flatly rejected suggestions that competing in the French Open doubles tournament with sister Venus could hinder her progress in the singles competition despite her knee injury worries.
Serena, the second seed, struggled past Czech Klara Zakopalova in her opener on Tuesday, before taking the court for a doubles match later that day.
The Williams sisters, who are seeded fifth in the draw, were locked at one set all with Czech pair Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka when play was suspended in the gathering gloom, but Serena said she had no fears about over-exerting herself.
”Well, I won the Australian Open [doubles],” she said. ”I love playing doubles, and our goal was to play more and to play all four slams and hopefully more tournaments.”
Serena has struggled with injury problems coming into the tournament — her win on Tuesday was her first on clay this year — and feels the extra match practice afforded by the doubles contest can help her get back in shape.
”I’m feeling pretty good, so if I feel like I can’t play [in the doubles] then obviously I won’t,” said the American.
”Right now I actually need the matches. I didn’t get a lot of matches coming into this, so the doubles actually is going to end up helping me.”
The 10-time Grand Slam winner looked short of sharpness during a 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-4 win over Zakopalova in which she spurned eight match points before eventually winning through to seal a second-round tie with Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain.
”I played really horrible,” she said. ”I didn’t play well. I didn’t move, like, up. I just played junior tennis or even worse, and, you know, it just showed. It was what it was.” — Sapa-AFP