Serena Williams turns ankle, wins anyway at Australian Open

Not even a bad ankle can slow Serena Williams at the Australian Open.

Early in her first-round match against Edina Gallovits-Hall, Williams appeared to turn her right ankle while chasing down a ball. She called for a medical timeout and received treatment.

Then, she went ahead and routed Gallovits-Hall, 6-0, 6-0.

After the match, Williams said there was pain and swelling in her ankle and X-rays were an option, but she wanted to leave any decisions about treatment for a few hours. She gets a day off before her second-round match on Thursday.

“Oh, I’ll be out there,” she said. “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. 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.”

Defending champion Victoria Azarenka also advanced, coming back from a break down in the second set to beat Monica Niculescu 6-1, 6-4 at Rod Laver Arena. But all she wanted to know about afterward was Williams’ injury.

“I heard she won love and love, so what kind of injury are we talking about?” she said.

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