Serena Williams has been dominant this year and she continued that streak on Tuesday, as she advanced to the third round of the Madrid Open, one of the warm-ups for the French Open major, where she is defending champion.
According to ESPN.com, Williams defeated Lourdes Dominguez Lino 6-2 7-5 in the second round, passing easily by the wild card player to advance to the next stage. Williams will play Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic or 13th-seeded Russian Maria Kirilenko in the next round for a chance at the quarters, while Maria Sharapova is still in action as well in the second round at the tournament.
The 31-year-old top ranked player is going for her fourth win this year and the 50th title of her long career and she said that Dominguez Lino played her tough and was able to use some interesting shots to keep her off balance. Williams had some tough errors but used the clay to her advantage and she should only get stronger as the French Open gets closer. Williams has won 15 major singles titles and she will be looking for another one when the French Open begins.
Williams had to deal with some drama on Monday as a story on ESPN the Magazine spoke about her relationship with 19-year-old Sloane Stephens, with the young star complaining about Williams not being a mentor to her despite the media reporting it that way. She also was up in arms over social media interactions between the two and turned it into a whole ordeal. Williams did not worry about the issues and easily defeated her opponent.
"I made a lot of errors, but her game kind of forces you to make errors," the American told a news conference. "It was a really good clay‑court tennis match for me.