Former American world no.1, Serena Williams has claimed that she can be even better than before she took a break from tennis owing to her pregnancy. She recently played her first Grand Slam match since the 2017 Australian Open when she played Karolina Pliskova at Roland Garros.

Speaking after a hard-fought victory against Australian Ashleigh Barty, Serena said, “I’m probably not where I was before I left. I’m definitely going to get there, but I also want to get beyond there.”

After managing to win in three sets, Serena will now face German Julia Georges in the third round following her victory against Alison van Uytvanck.

Serena had won her opening match pretty comfortably but Barty posed a tougher challenge for her. She looked in danger of bowing out in the second round of Roland Garros for the second time in three years (it happened in 2014) before rallying back.

She lost the first set 3-6 in just 28 minutes as she was unable to break serve and her returns too were easy for Barty. Her comeback looked doomed when Barty broke serve in the opening game of the second set but that was the last chance she had of taking the game by its neck.

Serena did not allow her opponent anymore leeway as she took control with a 4-1 lead and eventually won the set 6-3 with a trademark ace. The final set too was uneventful as the American closed out the match with a straightforward 6-4 win.

The half-full Philippe Chatrier crowd was ecstatic on seeing their hero return as they partook in a Mexican Wave when Serena was leading in the final set, delaying her moment of victory. It lead to her having a laugh as the chair umpire begged for the crown to maintain decorum.