Seven-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams sealed her return with a dramatic comeback win over fifth seed Nadia Petrova in the Australian Open third round.
MELBOURNE: Seven-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams sealed her return with a dramatic comeback win over fifth seed Nadia Petrova in the Australian Open third round on Friday.
Williams, the 2003 and 2005 Australian champion, posted her first win over a top 10 opponent in two years to down the Russian 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 in a see-sawing match featuring 10 service breaks. "Has it been that long? That's a terrible state. My God!" she said of her recent record against top players, answering "yeah, definitely" when asked if the win meant she was finally back among the game's elite.
Williams has faced questions about her physical conditioning after a lengthy lay-off but said she remained full of energy after a tough three setter that lasted two hours five minutes. "I feel like going to run a marathon," she joked. "I'm excited; I'm having fun out here."
Williams was fired up for the clash when Petrova said before the match that she and sister Venus no longer possessed the intimidating aura from their period dominating women's tennis and were too distracted by outside pursuits.
The American 25-year-old cancelled a scheduled shopping trip on her rest day on Thursday to fit in an extra practice session, intent on making the Russian eat her words. Unseeded in a tournament she has won twice and ranked 81 in the world after a frustrating 2006 marred by injury and a lengthy legal dispute, Williams remained supremely confident about her abilities.
"If I play my game and I play the way I know I can, then it's tough to beat me," she said. "I felt like I was doing everything right in the first set and then she was killing me and I was like 'what to do?' so I'm glad I was able to change it up," Williams said.
"The more pressure I get, the tougher I get," Williams said.
Petrova admitted she thought Williams would struggle as the match wore on and tried to move her opponent around the court. "I really couldn't spot in her body language that she was exhausted," Petrova said.
"She looked fitter to me compared to what I've heard from other players the way she was playing in Hobart." Williams will face either Victoria Azarenka of Belarus or in-form Serb eleventh seed Jelena Jankovic in the fourth round.
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