Serena Williams said she always feels the nerves entering the first round of a major. There seemed to be few on Tuesday as the top seed and defending champion defeated Mandy Minella of Luxembourg 6-1, 6-3 to move into the second round of Wimbledon.
It was the 32nd consecutive victory for Williams and ran her record in 2013 to 44-2.
“I don’t think about it,” Williams said about her streak. “Every single time I step out on the court it’s a new match.”
Tuesday’s match was Williams’ first since she won the French Open in Paris two weeks ago, and it was a chance to turn the focus back to tennis following nearly a week of off-court controversy involving an article in Rolling Stone. First there were her comments about a high-profile rape case that resulted in two apologies and a promise to work on awareness with the family of the victim. Then there was a verbal spat with Maria Sharapova.
“It hasn’t been a distraction,” Williams said. “Like I said, I’m just here to focus on the tennis,” Williams said. “I’m just here to play Wimbledon. It’s the premier tournament in the world, of the year, so that’s what’s most important. … We’re playing on opposite days, so we don’t really see each other.”
On Tuesday, at last, it was back to tennis.
