Serena Williams started Tuesday with a 37-0 record in the first round at Grand Slam tournaments.
She also began the day with a four-match losing streak, the longest of her career.
Williams focused on the second of those statistics, the more discouraging one. And while she never appeared truly in danger of coming out on the wrong end against 100th-ranked Klara Zakopalova, there were times when it did seem Williams simply could not wrap things up.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Twice, Williams served for the match and was broken. Eight times, Williams was a single point from victory and couldn’t complete the task. Finally, on match point No. 9, Zakopalova pushed a forehand wide to seal Williams’ 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-4 victory, leaving the 10-time Grand Slam champion screaming and hopping at the baseline in a mix of joy and relief.
“I was just desperate for a win,” the second-seeded Williams said, “and I think it pretty much showed in my game.”
Whether it was the result of rust or a lingering knee injury or the swirling wind that carried debris from the stands onto the court, Williams’ mistakes kept coming.
PHOTO: AP
She finished with the same number of unforced errors as winners, 35, wound up wasting 13 of 20 break points and put only 55 percent of her first serves in play.
Williams called her performance “horrendous,” and said: “I just played junior tennis — or even worse.”
All in all, it was a two and a half hour struggle for the 2002 French Open champion.
In contrast, Novak Djokovic got an easy ride into the last 64 when his opponent Nicolas Lapentti hobbled off court with an ankle injury. Djokovic was leading 6-3, 3-1.
The Serb could sympathize with the plight of Ecuador’s Lapentti’s having retired from a quarter-final clash at this year’s Australia Open.
Grimacing in pain after going over on his left ankle while trailing 5-2 in the opening set, Lapentti called on the tournament trainer to strap it up but after limping around court for another six games, the 32-year-old called it a day.
Men’s ninth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, runner-up in Melbourne last year, registered his first win at his home slam with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over fellow Frenchman Julien Benneteau. Eleventh seed Gael Monfils and former champion Juan Carlos Ferrero also progressed.
However, James Blake, the 15th seed, was upset 7-6 (8-6), 7-5, 6-2 by Leonardo Mayer, a little-known Argentine qualifier ranked 93rd making his Grand Slam debut.
“He served well at times, but I just wasn’t putting any pressure on his second serve,” Blake said.
“Couldn’t get really anything on my forehand. Usually that’s a pretty effective shot. Today, I didn’t feel like it was hurting him,” he said.
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