Serena Williams beats Flavia Pennetta in Toronto | Inquirer Sports

Serena Williams beats Flavia Pennetta in Toronto

/ 03:58 PM August 12, 2015

Serena Williams, of the United States, reacts to a point on her way to defeating Flavia Pennetta, of Italy, at the Rogers Cup tennis tournament Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2015, in Toronto. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Serena Williams, of the United States, reacts to a point on her way to defeating Flavia Pennetta, of Italy, at the Rogers Cup tennis tournament Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2015, in Toronto. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

TORONTO — Top-ranked Serena Williams rebounded to beat Italy’s Flavia Pennetta 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 on Tuesday in the second round of the WTA Tour’s Rogers Cup.

“I was really frustrated with how I was playing,” Williams said. “And then I got really angry. … So I said, ‘Serena, you’re going to have to be positive and be good to yourself out here.'”

Article continues after this advertisement

The 21-time Grand Slam winner won a day after sister Venus Williams was eliminated in straight sets by Germany’s Sabine Lisicki.

FEATURED STORIES

The 33-year-old Williams blamed unforced errors for her early struggles.

“It was a good opportunity for me because I haven’t played a match on hard courts since April-ish, early, early April, after Miami,” Williams said. “It was a long time ago. So I think it was really good for me to have that match play.”

Article continues after this advertisement

Williams won the first of her three Toronto titles in 2001.

Article continues after this advertisement

“Like a nice vintage wine, Williams said. “A good vintage red wine, I’d say, getting better with age, I hope.”

Article continues after this advertisement

Slumping Canadian star Eugenie Bouchard dropped out, falling 6-0, 5-7, 6-2 to Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic in a first-round match. Bouchard has also lost 13 of her past 15 matches.

“It’s easy to let yourself get negative when you lose a couple of matches in a row or you know your body’s not feeling great,” Bouchard said. “It’s definitely been a tough road. And I feel like I’m at least not going downwards anymore. I’m trying to go on the right path.

Article continues after this advertisement

“I feel like I can be close to performing well on the court, and it’s just been a long, patient kind of battle, and I feel like I’m close to turning it around.”

On other first-round matches, France’s Alize Cornet upset ninth-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-4; qualifier Mirjana Lucic-Baroni of Croatia beat 10th-seeded Karolina Pliskova 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-2; No. 11 Ekaterina Makarova of Russia topped American qualifier Anna Tatishvili 6-3, 6-3; and American Alison Riske defeated 12th-seeded Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland 3-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3).

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

Belarus’ Victoria Azarenka beat Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina 6-1, 6-4, and Germany’s Angelique Kerber beat Japanese qualifier Misaki Doi 6-0, 6-1.

TAGS: Flavia Pennetta, Serena Williams, Sports, Tennis, Toronto

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our newsletter!

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

© Copyright 1997-2024 INQUIRER.net | All Rights Reserved

This is an information message

We use cookies to enhance your experience. By continuing, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more here.