Serena Williams pumped her fist after each important point and screamed as she smacked another emphatic shot. The defending Cincinnati champion wasn't going to ease into the tournament.
Williams put a lot of emotion into her opening match at the Cincinnati Masters on Wednesday, a 7-5 6-3 victory over Tsvetana Pironkova.
Williams won the Cincinnati tournament for the first time last year, getting one of the few titles that had eluded her. This year, she's using it as a final tuneup for the US Open, where she'll try to complete a Grand Slam sweep.
She beat Pironkova in an hour and 29 minutes, fighting off three break points in the first set. She broke her to win that set, then broke her again for a 5-3 lead in the second.
The start of the day's matches was delayed 35 minutes because of rain, which fell again shortly after Williams completed her win.
Her sister, Venus, dropped out of the tournament Tuesday night with an illness. Maria Sharapova also dropped out with a lingering injury to her right leg.
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