Serena Williams won her first-round French Open match against Vitalia Diatchenko, despite an initial scare when the Russian won the opening set, winning 2-6, 6-1, 6-0, making it a perfect start for her new design ‘ zebra ‘ outfit.
Williams, 37, had made headlines before opening her account at Roland Garros by introducing her new Nike-deigned zebra-print outfit that followed her all-black body-hugging costume for the Grand Slam tournament last year.
The attire choice divided opinion among fans, who couldn’t make up their minds if it was an improvement on last year’s ‘ catsuit. ‘ After the win, the bold garment seemed to be approved by many fans.
In a poor first set filled with loose shots, American Williams, who was fighting injury, showed rustiness.
It seems unlikely that the mother-of-one will add a 24th Grand Slam title to her Paris collection because she’s pulled out of each of the last three events she’s played either before or during the second round, but if her body doesn’t let her down when she’s still the most fearsome opponent on the WTA Tour.
Serena is now facing either Slovenian Dalila Jakupovic or Japanese Kurumi Nara, who is also playing on Monday in the 64 round. For Diatchenko, she has been crashed out of the French Open despite her heroics in the opening set, failing to improve on the tournament’s career-best 2nd round finish.
