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| Serena Williams of the United States hits a return during her women's singles first round match against Edina Gallovits-Hall of Romania on the second day of 2013 Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 15, 2013. Serena Williams won 2-0. (Xinhua/Bai Xue) |
MELBOURNE, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Title-favorite Serena Williams temporarily overcame a major scare and managed to overwhelm Edina Gallovits-Hall 6-0, 6-0 in the first round at the Australian Open here on Monday.
Williams, who has come into the tournament as substantial favorite after winning six of the last events she has entered, badly twisted her right ankle when running wide for a forehand in the fifth game of the first set. But after lying on the ground for a good two minutes, Williams was able to get up, limp back to the chair and have her ankle rewrapped.
"Oh, I'll be out there," she said when asked if she would be playing her next match on Thursday.
"I mean, unless something fatal happens to me, there's no way I'm not going to be competing. I'm alive. My heart's beating. I'll be fine," she said.
"I've been injured before," she added. "I've played this tournament with so many injuries and was able to come off pretty on top."
"So for me it's just another page and a great story to tell the grandkids one day," said the 15-time Grand Slam winner.
Despite the injury, the imposing Williams was far too good for Gallovits-Hall who failed to take advantage, allowing her opponent to wrap up the match in just 54 minutes.
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