The first round of the 2013 Australian Open continued Monday night and, while the favorites mostly cruised through the early-round action, an ankle injury could impact Serena Williams’ quest for a third straight major title. The third-seeded Williams advanced with a 6-0, 6-0 victory, but injured her ankle during the first set.
Australian Open 2013: Serena Williams dealing with injury, but will continue playing
Serena Williams injured her ankle, but was still able to advance in the first round of the Australian Open.
Michael Dodge
Williams fell to the court awkwardly during the opening set and immediately grabbed for her right ankle. She was tended to by a trainer before returning to finish the set. Despite a heavily taped ankle, Williams dominated the second set to advance to the next round. After the match, Williams said the injury was painful but would not prohibit her from continuing in the tournament in both singles and doubles.
Williams wasn’t the only high seed to advance on the women’s side. No. 1 Victoria Azarenka advanced in straight sets while No. 8 Petra Kvitova needed three sets to defeat Francesca Schiavone. No. 7 Sara Errani was one of the top seeds to fall as she lost 4-6, 4-6 to Carla Suarez Navarro.
On the men’s side, No. 3 Andy Murray advanced with a 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 victory against Robin Haase. Murray was playing his first Grand Slam match since winning the U.S. Open. While Murray breezed through his opening match, No. 13 Milos Raonic had a little tougher test against Jan Hajek. Raonic dropped the first set before winning the next two. He was pushed to a tiebreaker in the fourth set, but won 7-6 to clinch the match and advance.
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