One and Only Williams Rolls

If this was a homecoming coronation of sorts, Serena Williams was properly outfitted, a shiny tiara in her hair and her magic wand in her hand. OK, not exactly. Then, how about a tennis racket instead of a magic wand?

The reigning Wimbledon and French Open champion played her first match since officially becoming the No. 1-ranked player in the world. It was on Wednesday night at the Manhattan Country Club in Manhattan Beach, a few miles away from her childhood home in Compton. It made sense, after all, her tennis journey started nearby and now she was able to come home to celebrate reaching the pinnacle of her profession.

Though an achy left knee and a month off from tournament action prevented perfection, simple power and star presence were enough against Lina Krasnoroutskaya of Russia in the second round at the JPMorgan Chase Open. The top-seeded Williams had eight aces and double-faulted four times, winning, 6-4, 6-2, in 66 minutes.

“I’m definitely happy to be back,” she said. “I’m really excited. I love it out there. I love the atmosphere. It’s just what I love to do.”

The buzz around Williams’ recent ascent to No. 1 created a big-match feel. She wore a patch on her left knee, saying she needed to see the doctor recently to get it examined but never considered skipping Manhattan Beach. It would have been hard to miss this special homecoming.

“I always really get excited when they say, winner of French Open, every time they say winner of Wimbledon,” Williams said. “It’s really special for me.”

It was an erratic match for both. Williams declared herself rusty. And though the 18-year-old Russian produced some hard-hit winners, she was also shaky, having been off the circuit since the Australian Open in January recovering from a severe ankle injury. It wasn’t long ago she still felt pain in her left knee and ankle.

She said she was not intimidated by playing Williams, adding that fate maybe had something to do with her drawing Serena in the second round. If anything, she figured Williams could be vulnerable early in a tournament.

Williams was not pleased with her game, which was littered with unforced errors. In fact, Krasnoroutskaya won the opening game of the match, holding at love on four mistakes by Williams. But Williams managed to break serve early in both sets.

“I’m figuring, why am I playing like this?” Williams said. “I’m No. 1 in the world. We all have some tough days. I’m just glad I was able to get through the match.”

Several other seeded players were not as lucky, unable to survive the second round. Eleni Daniilidou of Greece defeated No. 6 Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, 6-4, 6-2; Ai Sugiyama of Japan upset No. 7 Elena Dementieva of Russia, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5; Amanda Coetzer of South Africa took out No. 11 Anna Smashnova of Israel, 6-0, 6-2; and Janette Husarova of Slovakia beat No. 14 Meghann Shaughnessy, 6-4, 6-4.

A tired and flu-riddled Jelena Dokic of Yugoslavia, who was a finalist at La Costa on Sunday, won her first match, defeating Tina Pisnik of Slovenia, 6-3, 6-2, in the second round. Dokic, seeded fourth, is in the same half of the draw as Williams.

Williams will play No. 15 Nathalie Dechy of France today in the third round. Wednesday’s result put Williams’ winning streak at 20 matches. She has not lost since the final of the German Open at Berlin in May, going out to Justine Henin of Belgium in three sets.

Life at the top requires a different outlook, apparently. Her standard is a bit higher now.

“In the past, I used to say, ‘Come on, Serena, you’ll never be No. 1 doing this,’ ” Williams said. “And now I say, ‘Come on Serena, you’ll never be No. 1. Uh, oops, you are No. 1.’ It’s not the same. Obviously I would like to reach a new level.

“I don’t want to be No. 1 for just a couple of weeks. I would like to hopefully stay there for a little while.”

And get a few more shots at wearing new gowns at the Wimbledon champions dinner.

“It was really a fabulous, fabulous dress,” Williams said. “I was definitely the belle of the ball.”

Finally, Williams has not lost her sense of humor since gaining the No. 1 spot.

“OK, she’s stuck on herself,” she said of herself, laughing.

Williams departed the interview room, wearing a towel around her shoulders over her tennis outfit.

“I could be the belle of the ball wearing this,” Williams said.

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Featured Matches

Today at JPMorgan Chase Open, Manhattan Country Club:

STADIUM COURT, 10 A.M.

* Chanda Rubin vs. Daja Bedanova; Tatiana Panova vs. Lindsay Davenport; Serena Williams vs. Nathalie Dechy; Jelena Dokic vs. Janette Husarova.

GRAND STAND, 10 A.M.

* Rita Grande vs. Katarina Srebotnik; Eleni Daniilidou vs. Anne Kremer; Ai Sugiyama vs. Amanda Coetzer.

STADIUM COURT, 7 P.M.

* Tamarine Tanasugarn vs. Jennifer Capriati; S. Williams/Meghann Shaughnessy vs. Daniela Hantuchova/Sugiyama.

* On TV: Saturday, ESPN, one semifinal (delayed), 4 p.m. Sunday, ESPN, final, 11:30 a.m.