Serena Williams' unwavering faith propels her into second round

Perhaps more than the big serve, or the powerful groundstrokes, Serena Williams’ greatest asset is her unwavering faith in how the ebb and flow of a tennis match will always tilt in her favor. Yet for well over an hour today, versus world No. 101 Kristie Ahn, much seemed headed in the opposite direction. In this first round Roland Garros match, Ahn served for the first set at 5-4, lost that game, but two games later, took it into a tiebreaker.

Then the ethereal concept of faith took on vivid form: vintage Williams. First-rate serving, sharp angles, and powerful groundstrokes helped her handily win the tiebreaker, 7-2. Liberated from such a tight beginning, Williams sprinted through the second set, 6-0. The first set lasted 72 minutes; set two, a rapid 29.

“The biggest difference was just confidence,” said Williams. “I just need to play with more confidence, like I'm Serena. So that was it. I just started playing like that. And I love the clay and I started playing like it, opening the court and moving and sliding.”

Williams is now 75-1 in first round Grand Slam matches. Her only defeat at this stage came at Roland Garros in 2012. Williams on that occasion lost to Virginie Razzano. Shortly after, she commenced work with her current coach, Patrick Mouratoglou.

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Ahn and Williams also met in the first round of the US Open earlier this month. There too, Ahn took the lead, going up 2-0 in each set before losing 7-5, 6-3. Though today marked Ahn’s first main draw match at Roland Garros, in the early stages, it was she, not Williams, who appeared more comfortable on the clay. She took Williams’ serve at 1-all on her sixth break point of the game and in those first few games demonstrated repeated poise and precision.

The heavy conditions gave Ahn time to run down Williams’ drives, set up for her own—particularly a blistering forehand—and toss in the occasional drop shot. Williams appeared unsettled. Ahn served at 4-3 and, after 12 minutes and six break points, Williams evened the set. Surely, this was the momentum switch that would change everything. Not quite. Serving at 4-all, on three straight points, Williams hit a forehand into the net, the next wide and another long. Ahn broke and had the chance to serve for the set at 5-4.

How many times have we seen the pendulum turn at these stages in a Serena Williams match? As Williams’ intensity rose, Ahn played tight. Her flat, crisp forehand let her down in this game. Williams broke, held easily and then devoured Ahn in the tiebreaker.

In large part, the second set was a formality, Williams closing it out with her second ace. Having struck 28 unforced errors in the first set, Williams hit only eight in the second. As for Ahn, she hit nine winners in the opener, but a mere four in set two. Williams closed it out with her eleventh ace.

Said Williams, “I think her level was so high in the first set that I just needed to lift my level more than what I did.”

Williams' on-court interview following her win:

Williams’ next opponent is wild-card entry Tsvetana Pironkova. The two most recently played in the quarterfinals of the US Open, an engaging battle between mothers that went three sets before Williams won it. That too was a classic example of Williams playing her way into a match. Pironkova’s eclectic deployment of speed and spin define her as a pleasingly annoying tactician.

“She's playing well, but I am too,” said Williams. “I'm ready to play her. She'll be ready to play me. It will be a long match, she will get a lot of balls back, but so am I. I'll be ready.”

Though there’s no question Pironkova’s variety will pose a few clever questions to Williams, the thinking here is that the chilly climate and slow clay will make it harder for the Pironkova arsenal to gain significant traction.

An X factor is the injury to Williams’ left Achilles tendon that first surfaced in New York and compelled her to withdraw from Rome last week.

“I'm doing so much for it,” said Williams. “I did so much for it at Patrick's academy, like I went straight from New York directly to his academy and started rehabbing it. Yeah, so one of the reasons I came into press a little bit earlier than normal, because I need to get back and start the protocol all over again. So just kind of just rehab that, laser, ice, just a lot, a lot of stuff on it.”

Williams also cited another step she’s taken to mend the injury: “A ton of prayer.” Here again, Serena Williams, drawing on faith.