Serena Williams showed no signs of a knee injury as she overcame Camila Giorgi in the Australian Open first round.
The American world number one, under an injury cloud heading into the year's first grand slam, was in control throughout a 6-4, 7-5 win on Rod Laver Arena on Monday.
Williams, a 21-time grand slam champion, has had limited match practice due to knee inflammation during the Hopman Cup. But the defending champion was too good for hard-hitting Italian Giorgi, the highest ranked unseeded player in the draw.
Williams showed plenty of emotion in the big moments despite rolling out to a 4-1 lead in the first set.
Giorgi managed to stay with Williams until the 11th game in the second set, but the latter broke thanks to a double fault before closing out her win.
Serena Williams insists she did not feel her knee injury at all during her first-round win over Camila Giorgi at the Australian Open. The world number one was under an injury cloud heading into the year's first grand slam, having suffered from knee inflammation at the Hopman Cup.
The American, 34, said she had no problems with her knee on Rod Laver Arena.
"It [the knee] is great," Williams said. "It was an hour and 43 minutes and I didn't feel it at all."
Williams had tried to play at the Hopman Cup, but retired during her only match due to the knee worry. While she said match practice would have been ideal, Williams feels her decision in Perth helped her.
"I would have never pulled out if I didn't need to, and it was just a last-minute decision. I even tried to play a match," she said. "Obviously I wanted to play to get some match play."
As for her performance against Giorgi, Williams gave herself an "A for effort". But her serve, which produced nine aces and was broken just once, pleased her most.
"I think I served well today. I think I got broken once, but other than that, I was able to stay focused on that part," Williams said.
"And I was able to serve really well and that really helped me."
STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN
Williams [1] bt Giorgi 6-4, 7-5
ACES
Williams - 9
Giorgi - 7
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Williams - 19/22
Giorgi - 17/32
BREAK POINTS WON
Williams - 3/10
Giorgi - 1/1
FIRST SERVE PERCENTAGE
Williams - 53
Giorgi - 45
PERCENTAGE OF POINTS WON ON FIRST/SECOND SERVE
Williams - 86/65
Giorgi - 65/48
TOTAL POINTS
Williams - 79
Giorgi - 59
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