Serena Williams played down any fears over her fitness after she struggled with an ankle problem during her opening Hopman Cup match against Maria Sakkari.
Though the 23-time Grand Slam champion won 7-6 (7-3) 6-2, she felt some soreness in her ankle and required a medical timeout at the end of the opening set.
However, the 37-year-old insisted there was no lasting damage.
The ankle is good I just was struggling: it was too tight, it was too loose and I ended up having to change my shoes but its fine now, she said.
[Theres] no concern. Ive had a lot of ankle problems in Australia but its definitely ok and Im excited about that.
Although Williams won her singles, she ended up on the losing side as her compatriot Frances Tiafoe was beaten by Stefanos Tsitsipas before the Greek pairing downed the Americans in the doubles.
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Attention soon switched to their much-hyped New Years Day clash against Switzerland, where Williams will share a court with Roger Federer and his partner Belinda Bencic in the mixed doubles.
She joked: Im just glad its not singles!
Itll be great. Ive been looking forward to it since I saw it. I was like “Oh my God, this is so cool”! Its just something that you would dream of is to play Roger Federer.
Yeah, its only mixed doubles but its like a dream come true for me. I really look forward to sharing that stadium with him, its going to be special.
When asked about how she would match up with the Swiss, she replied: Theres one thing Ive never worried about is how Id match up against Roger because I dont think it would be very good!
Thankfully its something I dont have to often think about. Im just going to have fun tomorrow.
Her partner Tiafoe believes the atmosphere on the Perth showcourt will be something to relish as two giants of the sporting world collide.
The world No. 39 said: The crowd is going to be going nuts. Its an experience I cant wait for. Its unbelievable I can say I can do that.
We dont know how long theyre going to play. It looks like theyre never going to retire but we have no idea how long theyll play, so to do that at such a young age in my career its going to be great. Hopefully I can tell the grandkids one day.
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Serena Williams played down any fears over her fitness after she struggled with an ankle problem during her opening Hopman Cup match against Maria Sakkari.
Though the 23-time Grand Slam champion won 7-6 (7-3) 6-2, she felt some soreness in her ankle and required a medical timeout at the end of the opening set.
However, the 37-year-old insisted there was no lasting damage.
The ankle is good I just was struggling: it was too tight, it was too loose and I ended up having to change my shoes but its fine now, she said.
[Theres] no concern. Ive had a lot of ankle problems in Australia but its definitely ok and Im excited about that.
Although Williams won her singles, she ended up on the losing side as her compatriot Frances Tiafoe was beaten by Stefanos Tsitsipas before the Greek pairing downed the Americans in the doubles.
Advertisement Advertisement
Attention soon switched to their much-hyped New Years Day clash against Switzerland, where Williams will share a court with Roger Federer and his partner Belinda Bencic in the mixed doubles.
She joked: Im just glad its not singles!
Itll be great. Ive been looking forward to it since I saw it. I was like “Oh my God, this is so cool”! Its just something that you would dream of is to play Roger Federer.
Yeah, its only mixed doubles but its like a dream come true for me. I really look forward to sharing that stadium with him, its going to be special.
When asked about how she would match up with the Swiss, she replied: Theres one thing Ive never worried about is how Id match up against Roger because I dont think it would be very good!
Thankfully its something I dont have to often think about. Im just going to have fun tomorrow.
Her partner Tiafoe believes the atmosphere on the Perth showcourt will be something to relish as two giants of the sporting world collide.
The world No. 39 said: The crowd is going to be going nuts. Its an experience I cant wait for. Its unbelievable I can say I can do that.
We dont know how long theyre going to play. It looks like theyre never going to retire but we have no idea how long theyll play, so to do that at such a young age in my career its going to be great. Hopefully I can tell the grandkids one day.
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More: Tennis
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