Serena Williams, playing for the first time since she turned an ankle in early January, overwhelmed qualifier Alina Jidkova 6-3, 6-3 Wednesday night in the second round of the State Farm Women’s Tennis Classic at Scottsdale, Ariz.
“On a scale of 10, I’d give myself about a two,” said Williams, the third-seeded player in the $585,000 event. “I didn’t play good at all. I missed my serve, I didn’t hit any big ones, I made several errors.”
Earlier, No. 2 Martina Hingis beat Stephanie Foretz 6-2, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals.
– Recovered from his bout with chicken pox, top-ranked Lleyton Hewitt beat Michael Llodra 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 in the Siebel Open at San Jose, Calif.
– Anna Kournikova, still seeking her first WTA Tour title, beat Tathiana Garbin 6-1, 6-2 in the second round of the Abierto Mexicano Pegaso tournament at Acapulco, Mexico.
– Pete Sampras, switching coaches for the second time in three months, is replacing Tom Gullikson with Jose Higueras, who’ll also stay on as the head coach of men’s tennis for the U.S. Tennis Association.
