TORONTO — World No. 1 Serena Williams rode a wave of emotions to a three-set victory against Italy's Flavia Pennetta on Tuesday at the Rogers Cup.
"I was really frustrated with how I was playing," Williams said. "And then I got really angry. … So I said, 'Serena, you're going to have to be positive and be good to yourself out here."'
Williams turned early frustration into positive energy and dominated Pennetta from the second set on to win 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 at Aviva Centre.
Appearing sluggish early on, Williams was unable to get to baseline shots as Pennetta painted the corners to put the pressure on. The 33-year-old blamed unforced errors for her early struggles.
Then she found her groove when down a break in the second set and looked like she flipped a switch. At that point, Williams was no match for Pennetta.
"It was a good opportunity for me because I haven't played a match on hard courts since April-ish, early, early April, after Miami," Williams said. "It was a long time ago. So I think it was really good for me to have that match play."
The 21-time Grand Slam winner was trying to avoid the Rogers Cup being without a Williams sister after Venus was eliminated in the first round Monday night in straight sets by Germany's Sabine Lisicki.
Williams is the only player back for this Rogers Cup who played in 2001, when she won the tournament for the first time. Asked how that made her feel, Williams said: "Like a nice vintage wine. A good vintage red wine, I'd say, getting better with age, I hope."
Even at 33, Williams is playing elite-level tennis and can complete the calendar-year Grand Slam by winning the U.S. Open next month. She's using this tournament to get used to playing on hard courts again.
Carol Zhao of Richmond Hill, Ont., lost 6-1, 6-1 to American Madison Brengle. Earlier in the day, qualifier Mirjana Lucic-Baroni upset 10th-seeded Karolina Pliskova 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-2.
Rain Monday made for a crowded schedule of 28 matches Tuesday.
Canadian star Eugenie Bouchard of Westmount, Que., was set to face Switzerland's Belinda Bencic in her first-round match on centre court at 7 p.m. ET. Bouchard has lost 12 of her past 14 matches in WTA and Fed Cup play.
Montreal's Francoise Abanda will play 16th-seeded Andrea Petkovic of Germany after Bouchard's match.
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