Serena makes winning return at WTA Tour C'ship
Steve Keating, Reuters, Los Angeles
World number one Serena Williams returned to work on Thursday after a vacation of nearly six weeks, opening her defense of her WTA Tour Championship crown with a 6-2, 6-2 demolition of Anna Smashnova.
Joining Williams in the final eight was third seed American compatriot Jennifer Capriati, the Australian Open champion overcoming a slow start to tame Italy's Silvia Farina Elia 7-5, 6-1.
With a successful defense of the title she captured last year in Germany, Williams can cap off a memorable campaign -- which includes grand slam wins at the French and US Opens and Wimbledon -- by becoming the first woman to win $4 million in a single season.
But even Williams, the sport's biggest attraction who learned to play tennis in nearby Compton, could not pull in more than a few thousand spectators to the Tour's $3 million year-end extravaganza which has been plagued by poor attendance on its first two days.
Despite having not played since lifting her season-leading eighth title six weeks ago, Williams needed only a few games to shake off the rust and overpowered Smashnova in just 53 minutes.
"I guess I felt a bit rusty today," conceded Williams. "I had a few forced errors too many.
"It's just a matter of focusing mentally and the tougher the opponent it automatically clicks in."
Citing fatigue, Williams withdrew from events in Filderstadt, Zurich and Linz but the world number one has hardly been at home recharging her batteries, keeping busy with acting roles, lessons and sponsorship appearances.
Back on court Williams was all business but did not rate her performance highly despite dominating the match from start to finish.
She rifled six aces past her opponent but offset those with six double faults, while Smashnova contributed to her demise by failing to strike a single winner the entire contests.
Williams opened the match by breaking Smashnova at the first opportunity but then allowed her Israeli opponent to break back immediately.
That would be the high point of the match for Smashnova as Williams would break again and sweep four of the next five games to take a one-set lead.
A scrappy Smashnova, the winner of four tournaments this season, would battle to 2-2 in the second set but again wilted on Williams punishing power, the 21-year-old American racing through the last four games to clinch the match and give her 37 wins in last 38 matches.
Williams will now meet Yugoslavia's Jelena Dokic, who advanced with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Russia's Anastasia Myskina.
In other first round action Magdalena Maleeva beat a weary seventh seed Daniela Hantuchova 6-2, 7-5.
The victory was the Bulgarian's first in three meetings over the jet-lagged teenager, who only arrived in Los Angeles early Tuesday morning following a draining 20 hour journey from the Canary Islands where she had led Slovakia to an historic Fed Cup title over Spain.
Maleeva will now take on another top 10 opponent in the final eight when she faces Capriati, who was especially pleased by her victory over Farina Elia because it came indoors.