Serena Williams was satisfied with her win over Belinda Bencic as the second seed made it through to the second round of the Australian Open on Tuesday.
Swiss teenager Bencic took it to Williams but the former World No. 1 survived to triumph 6-4, 6-3 in sweltering conditions at Melbourne Park.
Williams — runner-up at the tournament last year — did not have it all her own way, tallying 30 unforced errors and four double faults on Rod Laver Arena.
The 22-time Grand-Slam champion, however, overcame her opponent to earn a second-round showdown with Lucie Safarova. "I think it was pretty good. I mean, she's a really good player," Williams told reporters of her performance.
"I think I was able to start out well."
After taking out the opening set, Williams was cruising at 5-0 in the second, with a second-round berth all but secured. But Bencic had other ideas as she reeled off three consecutive games to force her way back into the contest.
Williams then double-faulted twice in her attempts to serve for the match again, though she was not to be denied after an hour, 19 minutes. "I just wasn't as aggressive as I was during those games. You know, she started playing better," the 35-year-old American added.
"I made a few errors on some key points, but for the most part, I still was going for everything and I was able to close it out."
STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN
Williams [2] bt Bencic 6-4 6-3
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Williams – 30/30
Bencic – 13/16
ACES
Williams – 8
Bencic – 3
BREAK POINTS WON
Williams – 4/8
Bencic – 2/4
FIRST SERVE PERCENTAGE
Williams – 61
Bencic – 51
PERCENTAGE OF POINTS WON ON FIRST/SECOND SERVE
Williams – 76/50
Bencic – 58/50
TOTAL POINTS
Williams – 65
Bencic – 52
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