Serena Given workout in a Stanford
Serena Williams was given a scare by 15-year-old Michelle Larcher de Brito before winning their second-round match at the Bank of the West Classic.
The American top seed dropped the first set against the Portuguese qualifier before winning 4-6 6-3 6-2. Williams made eight unforced errors in the initial 12 points. "It's definitely encouraging to know I can bounce back - I haven't been down a set for a while," she said. "It's the kind of practice I need." Playing her first match since losing the Wimbledon final to sister Venus, she sprayed her typically reliable groundstrokes long and wide. She hit ball after ball into the bottom of the net and regularly missed first serves. Her father, Richard, briefly left his seat in a corner box after watching his daughter struggle. The gutsy Larcher de Brito, ranked 226 in the world, pumped her fist on both her own winners and Williams' unforced errors and was the aggressor until her experienced opponent woke up in the second set.
The American top seed dropped the first set against the Portuguese qualifier before winning 4-6 6-3 6-2. Williams made eight unforced errors in the initial 12 points. "It's definitely encouraging to know I can bounce back - I haven't been down a set for a while," she said. "It's the kind of practice I need." Playing her first match since losing the Wimbledon final to sister Venus, she sprayed her typically reliable groundstrokes long and wide. She hit ball after ball into the bottom of the net and regularly missed first serves. Her father, Richard, briefly left his seat in a corner box after watching his daughter struggle. The gutsy Larcher de Brito, ranked 226 in the world, pumped her fist on both her own winners and Williams' unforced errors and was the aggressor until her experienced opponent woke up in the second set.
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