Serena Afloat Down Under

Who would have thought the biggest threat to the dual Slam hopes of Serena Williams would come from a little-known French left-hander named Emilie Loit?

Loit put everything she had into a two-hour, three-minute thriller against Williams, saving two match points in the 10th game of the third set, the second with an audacious backhand drop shot. For two hours and two minutes, the Serena Slam appeared to be living on borrowed time today at the Australian Open.

The old Serena used to crumble under these tense situations. Now, the new Serena finds some way to survive. The top-seeded Williams fought back from a service break down in the third set and defeated Loit, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5, in the first round on a cool windy day.

Williams, ranked No. 1 in the world, was visibly relieved once she was able to resume normal breathing patterns.

“It was definitely a big sigh,” said Williams, who had 55 unforced errors and also received an uncommon code violation warning for an audible obscenity in the second set.

“I had to take a breath -- it was great to be back, I’m glad I was able to pull it through.”

In her three Grand Slam championships in 2002, Williams dropped only two sets in winning, both at the French Open, and certainly never in the first round. She is trying to polish off the “Serena Slam,” which would be four consecutive Grand Slams, the non-calendar year version. At the same time, she is working on another Grand Slam in 2003, trying to win all four majors in the same year, which no one has done since Steffi Graf in 1988.

Such hard work in her opening match was not expected to be part of the script in trying to become the potential successor to Graf.

Loit, a 23-year-old from Cherbourg, has never won a WTA tournament. This was her 17th Grand Slam appearance and her best result was a fourth-round result here in 1999.

Having said that, these first-round matches are usually supposed to be a glorified practice session -- the chance to work on a few new shots and answer questions about the prospect of facing her older sister Venus in another Grand Slam.

Oh, of course, and put on some form of a fashion show. That went on without apparent trouble as Serena wore a new outfit. Interesting, a bit jumbled, but not in the controversial league of the flashy tight cat suit of the U.S. Open.

Fashion, however, became secondary once Loit, No. 56 in the world, started cracking a powerful forehand for winners. Even the most generous assessments would not have listed Loit as a threat, but she kept Williams off balance early with a variety of power and slice off her backhand side.

Williams, though, seemed to be suffering from a physical ailment in the first set, calling for the trainer, who gave her some tablets at the changeover, with Loit leading, 3-2. After 32 minutes, the first set went to Loit, who was helped, in part, by Williams’ 22 unforced errors.

In the second set, Williams became more patient but Loit would not go away, as she broke Williams at 30 when Serena served for the second set at 5-4. Loit held and Williams responded by holding her serve, forcing a tiebreaker with an ace.

Williams dominated the tiebreaker, leading, 5-1, before Loit chipped away at the deficit. Loit got back to 5-6, but lost the set by hitting a forehand long.

Similarly, the third set was just as roller coaster. Loit broke Williams at 15 to take a 3-2 lead, and had a point for a 4-2 lead on her serve, but Williams hit a stellar passing shot and evened the set two points later, breaking serve. They went back on serve until the final game and Williams finished off the match when Loit netted a forehand passing shot.

“It’s the best match I’ve ever played, on a tennis level and a feeling level,” Loit said through an interpreter. “I was believing it from the beginning. It was very close. On the two match points, I went for it. Today, I was feeling so good on the court, I thought anything could happen.”

Said Williams: “This match is a heads-up that everyone wants to beat me and I just need a reminder. I just had a bad day today. I hadn’t had a bad day in a while.”

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The WTA’s chief executive officer, Kevin Wulff, entering his second year in that position, is said to be considering resigning.

“While I’m proud of the many achievements the Tour has made in the past year, I must also consider what’s best for my family,” Wulff said in a statement.