Tuesday at the AEGON International at Eastbourne Serena Williams took to the court for the first time since she captured the 2010 Wimbledon title. A little rusty at first, she struggled but recovered to stop Tsvetana Pironkova 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. “I definitely think I was nervous. I think I was even more anxious more than anything, but there was no need for me to be anxious,†said Williams. The 13-time major winner had been absent from the tour due to foot surgery last year and a pulmonary embolism earlier this year.
One “anxious†moment for Williams was when she fell down near the end of her match Look, I always try not to fall down,†laughed Williams.
“It’s definitely not cool on my nails if I fall, because I can potentially break one, and that makes me really upset. I have three weeks to get through without breaking a nail. It’s definitely not good for me to fall at all. (laughter)â€
She further spoke about her fall more seriously, “I felt a little something. I got a little nervous. I was like, oh. Then I thought, this is grass. You know, you’re really moving. You’re stopping, you’re going. If I can survive this, especially with this long match, I’ll be good. And then I felt like, okay, that’s something I can look forward to.â€
Williams summed up her first match,†Well, I played a really good player. She’s a really good player, especially on grass. She did really well last year at Wimbledon making it to the semis, nearly making it to the final.
“You know, is wasn’t an easy match, but I think more than anything I wanted to win, and I think mentally I was there. I could have done a lot of things better, but that’s okay. I think that’s expected, and I think that going forward I will continue to try to do the things that I need to do.â€
“I definitely think I had fun,†said Williams. “It’s always good to have fun, especially after everything I’ve been through, like it’s all fun to me now. It’s all like this is really a bonus, like it’s all a bonus.â€