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Wins her opening match in Toronto: Serena Williams.
Photo: Christopher Katsarov/AP
Long-standing tennis world number one Serena Williams has won a match for the first time this year after the failed comeback in Wimbledon.
The 40-year-old American won the tournament in Toronto on Monday 6-3, 6-4 against Spain's Nuria Parrizas Diaz and thus qualified for the second round.
Williams found her rhythm
The success was only certain after almost two hours of play.
Williams started strong and won the first two games with relative ease.
Parrizas-Diaz equalized to make it 2-2, but although Williams struggled at times, the 31-year-old Spaniard couldn't find the flow of play to take the lead, the Associated Press reports.
Williams found her rhythm, mixing a solid touch with her signature power and throwing shot after shot just outside of Parrizas-Diaz's reach.
Williams' performance made fans cheer, with some even bowing, the match report said.
“It's great to be back here in Toronto.
I didn't know if I would be able to play here," Serena Williams said right after the match.
The winner of 23 Grand Slam tournaments lost to French Harmony Tan in the first round of the grass classic in Wimbledon in mid-July after a year-long injury break.
After that, she initially left open whether she would continue her career.
Before that, she last appeared at the 2021 Wimbledon tournament, where she retired midway through the first game due to a hamstring tear she sustained when she slipped on the grass.
The tournament in Toronto is in the second highest category after the four Grand Slams.
The last of the four most important events in the tennis season is the US Open in New York, which begins on August 29th.
yup/dpa/AP/sid