Parma (Italy) (AFP)
The American Serena Williams was eliminated Tuesday in her second match at the Parma tournament by the Czech Katerina Siniakova, 68th player in the world (7-6, 6-2).
The player at the 23 Grand Slam tournaments had received an invitation to line up in Parma, a week after her defeat in the first round at the Masters 1000 in Rome, where she was making her return to competition from the Australian Open, i.e. after three months of absence.
During her first round on Italian clay, she easily disposed of the 17-year-old Italian Lisa Pigato, after qualifying (6-3, 6-2).
The adversity of her second match was a little more severe, even if Katerina Siniakova's best Grand Slam performance was a round of 16 at Roland Garros in 2019.
Serena Williams, 39 years old but still 8th player in the world, suffered from her lack of automatisms, alternating the good (five aces) and the less good (seven double faults).
The Czech managed to take her opponent's serve three times in the second set, after an indecisive first set.
The American, who will try to seek at Roland-Garros a fourth coronation and thus equal the record of titles in Grand Slams of Margaret Court (24), had come to Parma, a tournament WTA 250, is of fourth category, to follow matches before arriving in Paris.
In the quarter-finals, Siniakova will face the winner of Wednesday's match between France's Caroline Garcia and Germany's Anna-Lena Friedsam.
© 2021 AFP