Serena Williams was beaten by 2017 Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-2 3-6 10-5 on the final day of the Mubadala World Tennis Championships at the Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi in her first match since her triumph at last January’s Australian Open final against her sister Venus.
Ostapenko broke serve in the fourth game to take a 3-1 en route to winning the first set 6-2.
Serena broke twice to open up a 3-0 lead to win the second set 6-3 forcing the match to the decisive tie-break . Ostapenko raced out to a 5-0 in the decisive championships tie-break The US 23-time Grand Slam champion made her come-back on the tennis court four months after giving birth to her daughter Alexis Olympia. Williams admitted that her daughter is now her first priority.
“The first matches back are super, incredibly hard especially after having a baby. I am excited. It’s good to be back on the court. This was such a good time for me. It’s my first time playing in Abu Dhabi, so thank you guys for the support. It was great. I am glad I could do it here. Tennis is not my priority now. Motherhood is phenomenal. I was a little worried out there and I looked at my camp and I was like:”Is Olympia OK ?”, said Serena Williams.
Ostapenko was delighted to play against her childhood idol Williams.
“I think it’s such a great opportunity. She was my idol and I watched her on television when I was growing up. I really liked her style she was playing and I think she is very big for women’s tennis”, said Ostapenko to Sport 360.
