Not Her Style, but Venus Williams Wins

The dust and rust clung to Venus Williams for more than an hour, disrupting her groundstrokes and sending a stir through Rod Laver Arena today at the Australian Open.

Granted, Williams had not played a singles match on the tour since October, but if she was going to get pushed into a third set, the odds were more likely it would be against Conchita Martinez, not Maria Jose Martinez.

But there was young Maria Jose, a tricky left-hander, pounding her forehand, wisely keeping the ball up the middle of the court, taking the angles away from Williams. Not so wisely, the 18-year-old from Murcia, Spain, opted to try far too many drop shots, a risky move against one of the fastest players on the tour.

Martinez had a chance to seize the first game of the third set, blowing a 40-15 lead on her own serve. The small opening inspired the third-seeded Williams, who won the final six games, beating the No. 152-ranked Martinez, 6-3, 2-6, 6-0, in 1 hour 29 minutes. It was the first Grand Slam tournament for Martinez, a finalist in the junior event last year.

“I didn’t feel like I was playing my top form throughout the match. I think I served very well, so I was happy with that,” said Williams, who had seven aces.

So did her younger sister, Serena. But that was about the only similarity. Sixth-seeded Serena, clad in pink, defeated Janet Lee of Taiwan, 6-1, 6-4, in 66 minutes in the first round.

Problems in the first round at the Australian Open are not new for Venus Williams. Two years ago, Silvija Talaja of Croatia was two points away from beating Williams in the first round. But that was the old Venus, not the dominant Venus, who has been considered the unofficial No. 1 since the summer.

But the rust and long rest from the tour troubled her about as much as Martinez did in the first round. After winning Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and Olympic gold medals in singles and doubles, Williams took time off after winning at Zurich and reaching the final at Linz, Austria, in October.

More recently, she signed a record-setting $40-million clothing contract with Reebok. But while the five-year deal provides financial security, it didn’t seem to offer a lot of support. Williams appeared bothered by her two-part tube/halter top, making readjustments after almost every point. Even Martinez noticed Williams was on the verge of creating a major tabloid event with the halter and said she tried not to watch her opponent between points.

Williams’ smile disappeared when she was asked a series of questions about the new ensemble. She said it was not a distraction and declined to describe it for the fashion-impaired scribes in the room.

“I think you’ll do a better job than I would,” Williams said.

Serena Williams, who has been more relaxed than her older sister in the lead-p to the Open, did not see the new outfit.

“I was expecting her to wear a different outfit than the one she wore today,” Serena Williams said. “She pulled a quick one on me. The other one she wore was really cute, and I heard this one was really better.

“A lot of people try to keep up with us, but it’s pretty hard. We’re the original, the first, the last.”

Other than the Williams-Martinez match, the top women advanced with little difficulty. Seventh-seeded Mary Pierce of France, ninth-seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia and No. 10 Amanda Coetzer of South Africa won in straight sets.

On the men’s side, the seeded players advancing in straight sets included No. 5 Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia, No. 10 Wayne Ferreira of South Africa, No. 11 Franco Squillari of Argentina and No. 15 Arnaud Clement of France and No. 16 Sebastien Grosjean of France.