PARIS (AP) – Serena Williams is still haunted by her struggles en route to winning last year’s French Open title.
After getting the flu early in the tournament, Williams was in major trouble during her three-set semifinal win over Timea Bacsinszky, wrapping herself in ice towels during changeovers, breathing heavily between points, the strain etched on her face.
“I think about it a lot, and I still don’t know how I got through it,” Williams said Friday after the draw for this year’s tournament. “My eyes were glassy, and I was just not doing well.”
After getting through that ordeal, she skipped practice on the eve of the final, preferring to sleep until the afternoon at her Paris apartment. It proved to be good choice as Williams overcame a mid-match slump to beat Lucie Safarova in three sets and clinch her 20th major title.
Bidding for her fourth Roland Garros title this year, the 34-year-old American will open against 76th-ranked Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia, then could meet Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals and third-seeded Angelique Kerber in the semifinals.