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Serena Williams has won the longest match of her career in three tie break sets. Williams survived one match point, and more than three and a half hours of play to win 6-7, 7-6, 7-6 over Vera Dushevina. Williams, who played for the first time since the Australian Open last week in Rome, was still rusty throughout the match, committing 73 unforced errors throughout the match.
After spending many weeks off resting her knees after the open, Serena didn’t look to be in the best physical shape possible, calling for the trainer early in the first set for her back, returning to the court with her thigh strapped. Williams threw away numerous opportunities in the first set, which she went on to lose. She had the early break and a 2-0 lead, before giving the break back. She then fought back to 5-2 and was unable to serve it out, with Dushevina pushing back to level at 5-5.
The two women battled on, with nervous play from the Russian and errors flying of Williams’ racket, until eventually she succeeded.
“I definitely feel really proud because I definitely wasn’t playing my best tennis and I was far off playing well. Also, at that point I wasn’t going to lose. After three hours, I’d better win.”
