Composed and dominant, Venus Williams wasted little time as she cruised into the second round of the ASB Classic.
The seven-time grand slam winner took just 52 minutes to complete a 6-1 6-0 win over Slovakia’s Jana Cepelova in Auckland on Tuesday.
The tournament third seed came away happy with what she got out of her first outing of the year, despite its brevity and one-sided nature.
“To even think about getting to the final, I have to play five days in a row, so I definitely don’t want to play super-long matches,” the 34-year-old American said.
“This is much easier on me and on any player to play a little bit shorter.”
A crowd favourite when she finished runner-up in Auckland 12 months ago, Williams went into this year’s event as the world No.19.
She was a class above a 21-year-old opponent ranked 40 places below her, showing power and accuracy, and also throwing down 10 aces.
The control she had in her serve was one aspect of her performance she was particularly pleased about, as was her net play and her calmness on court.
“Sometimes you can feel like your mind is going a thousand miles an hour, especially the first match of the season,” she said.
“For the most part I felt like I was playing in real time and not fast forward.”
Williams will next meet Japan’s Kurumi Nara, whom she has played once before, winning in the second round of Wimbledon last year.
Earlier, Czech qualifier Lucie Hradecka pulled off a major upset by ousting Russian fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Hradecka won the first-round contest 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-4, making Kuznetsova the third seeded player to exit the tournament.
The marathon encounter lasted almost two and a half hours and it extended Hradecka’s run of going the distance this week – her three matches in qualifying also went to a deciding set.
“I’m so happy I won and I’m so tired,” she quipped afterwards.
An accomplished doubles player with victories in the US Open and French Open, Hradecka is ranked 153 in singles.
It looked at one stage like Kuznetsova, a two-time grand slam champion, was headed for a straight-sets victory, but her opponent repeatedly fought back.
