American tennis star Serena Williams defeated her counterpart Greek player Maria Sakkari in straight sets in the Hopman Cup singles encounter on Monday.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion beat Sakkari by 7-6(3), 6-2.
"It is great to be back out in match day, and it is great to be back out here. I love playing in Australia. Some of my best memories are here. It was my first match back (today), she played unbelievably. Maria (Sakkari) is super young and such a good player," Women's Tennis Association (WTA) quoted Williams, as saying.
"I was making a lot of errors. I was like, 'It is ok, it is your first match and you will get better.' I just kept trying to think that," she said.
However, Williams along with fellow American Frances Tiafoe lost to the Greek duo of Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas by 1-4, 4-1, 2-4 in the mixed doubles.
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