Williams took the first set in only 26 minutes dispite a rusty start where she was prone to unforced errors. Morigami used
Monica Seles-like two-handed forehand and backhand groundstrokes to hit deep to pressure Venus into several errors, however
Williams soon found her range with her trademark backhand, hitting a two-handed backhand down the line winner like old times
on set point.
In set two Morigami took advantage of some key forehand errors and a handful of doublefaults from Venus to break serve to lead 2-0.
On set point Williams netted yet another forehand to draw the match even one set all.
At 30-40 with Morgami serving at 3 all in set three, Morgami sent a fatal forehand wide to go down a break 3-4. A couple of one hundred
mile per hour plus serves later, Venus held for 5-3. Venus' father Richard Williams, who'd left the match briefly in set two had by now made
his reappearance, as he cheered, "come on V."
Morigami held to 4-5, but Williams more or less repeated her previous service game with overpowering serves to end the match:
106, 109, 109, 114 miles per hour with a forehand crosscourt winner on matchpoint to advance to round two.
After the match Williams met the press, "Definitely I'm a little rusty. I mean the first set went so quick and it went fairly easy, and
I felt like I played well, sticking to my game plan. So I think in the second set I started to think, and I made a few errors, and then
seems like I couldn't stop the errors. It was like a windfall of errors. And just in the third set I said, 'Okay, let's try to stay focused.'You're
actually doing really good V.' And so it was exciting also to get it at three all which is in the third set a tough point in the match and
to come through really well and to play well and to close it out, so I felt good."
Venus Williams faces 16 year old Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark Tuesday night in the second match on the Stadium Court.
