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Hello. A first-round match featuring the world No451 wouldn’t normally be expected to take place on the biggest court at Roland Garros. But this world No451 is no ordinary world No451. This world No451 is Serena Williams, who’s playing in her first grand slam match since giving birth to her first child. The woman regarded by many as the greatest ever to play the sport, give or take a Martina or a Steffi, is third on Philippe-Chatrier with Krystina Pliskova of the Czech Republic and it will be fascinating to see how she fares. Not many people expect Williams to win her 24th slam. She has looked unsurprisingly rusty since returning to the tour a few months ago but the fact she’s here is inspiration in itself, bearing in mind the health complications she faced after bringing her daughter Olympia into the world. Mind you, we are talking about someone who won the Australian Open while she was pregnant. Even without a seeding, Serena Williams is not to be underestimated.
Before she takes to the court, though, there are a couple of other matches to get out of the way first. Marin Cilic, the No3 seed and former US Open champion, opens his tournament against Australia’s James Duckworth, and then Rafael Nadal and Simone Bolelli resume their rain-interrupted bout from last night. Nadal is two sets up but Bolelli was 3-0 up in the third before the rain arrived. Can the Italian force a fourth? Or will Nadal come roaring out of the traps?
Written by Jacob Steinberg
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2018/may/29/french-open-2018-day-three-live under the title “French Open 2018 day three – live!”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
