‘IT’S A GOOD THING’: Serena Williams said that she felt good being injury-free and enjoyed playing again, despite getting ‘real negative’ when down one break

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 09, 2019
By: Staff writer, with agencies, TORONTO

Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Belgian partner Kirsten Flipkens on Wednesday advanced to the Rogers

Cup women’s doubles quarter-finals, although the Chan sisters were not so fortunate, while Serena Williams looked solid in her first match since losing the Wimbledon final and defending champion Rafael Nadal began his title defense with a win.

Fourth-seeded Hsieh and Flipkens, paired for the first time, started the tournament strong, toppling the Japanese pair of Eri Hozumi and Makoto Ninomiya 6-3, 7-6 (7/0) in a match that lasted 90 minutes to move into the quarter-finals.

The duo broke serve in their Japanese opponents’ first two service games, giving them an edge they would not relinquish.

They faced a much sterner test in the second set, but exploited the Japanese players’ lack of stamina to clinch the match in the tiebreak.    [FULL  STORY]