Williams Battles Injury, and Insects

Williams Battles Injury, and Insects
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — If anything, it was the insects buzzing around Rod Laver Arena that bothered Serena Williams the most.

Her injured left ankle held up fine in her opening match Tuesday at the Australian Open, and even the near-midnight start time was O.K. But the bugs?

“I hate bugs more than you can imagine,” Williams said after reaching the second round by beating Tamira Paszek, 6-3, 6-2.

The match started at 11:32 p.m., and Williams hit a service winner 79 minutes later to finish it off. Between points, though, she picked up and moved or shooed away bugs that landed on court, and two that landed on her back.

“I’m going to request not to play at night anymore because I hate bugs, except for the final,” Williams said. “I heard it’s at night.”

Two years after her last Australian Open title, Williams extended her winning streak to 15 matches at Melbourne Park. She won titles in 2009 and 2010 but missed the chance to defend her title last year amid a prolonged injury layoff.

The match started late because Williams and Paszek had to wait until the conclusion of a four-hour men’s match won by Lleyton Hewitt. It was Williams’s first match since she badly sprained her ankle two weeks ago at the Brisbane International, an injury that jeopardized her participation in Melbourne. Williams was playing only her third match since losing the United States Open final to Samantha Stosur last September, and she said she was “a wee bit tight.”

“Physically I felt fine,” Williams said. “I was definitely moving better than I suspected. I still think I can move better, though, and just get that confidence.”

Stosur, the last woman to beat Williams, did not make the second round. She lost, 7-6 (2), 6-3, to No. 59-ranked Sorana Cirstea.

Fourth-ranked Maria Sharapova won the first eight games of a 6-0, 6-1 rout of Gisela Dulko of Argentina.

Hewitt gave the night session crowd something to cheer when he beat Cedrik-Marcel Stebe of Germany, 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. Hewitt will face his old rival Andy Roddick, who defeated Robin Haase of the Netherlands, 6-3, 6-4, 6-1. Top-ranked Novak Djokovic beat Paolo Lorenzi of Italy, 6-2, 6-0, 6-0. Djokovic wore pair of red, white and blue shoes with images of the three major trophies he won in 2011 on the sides and a Serbian flag on the heels.

In an early match Wednesday, the defending champion Kim Clijsters needed only 47 minutes to beat Stephanie Foretz Gacon of France, 6-0, 6-1. She will meet Daniela Hantuchova in the third round, and faces a potential rematch of last year’s final in the fourth round with Li Na, who won, 6-2, 6-2, over Olivia Rogowska.

FISH OUSTED No. 8 Mardy Fish, the top-ranked American, became the first top 10 player to fall in the men’s draw when he lost in the second round to the 71st-ranked Alejandro Falla of Colombia, 7-6 (4), 6-3, 7-6 (6), in three hours.

Fish had trouble controlling both his forehand and his backhand — hitting 58 unforced errors to Falla’s 34 — but also his temper.

Down by two sets to none, Fish appeared distracted and aggravated by the treatments Falla received for cramping. He complained to the chair umpire, Enric Molina, and sarcastically questioned a tournament referee about rules for cramping treatments.

Fish grew increasingly chippy as momentum shifted throughout the third set; several times, he unfurled a series of loud profanities after unforced errors.

“When you think someone is cramping or ailing physically, you sort of change your game a tiny bit,” Fish said, using air quotes to underline his skepticism of Falla’s condition. “I thought he was having some physical issues. But then in between every point, you know, he was totally fine.”

The second-round loss abbreviated what was an uncharacteristically cantankerous month for Fish in Australia. During losses in singles and mixed doubles at the Hopman Cup in Perth two weeks ago, Fish exchanged words with the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov. At one point he needed to be separated from the 20-year-old Dimitrov by a tournament official.

No. 3 seed Roger Federer, meanwhile, advanced to the third round when Andreas Beck withdrew because of a lower back injury. Second-seeded Rafael Nadal also moved on, with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Tommy Haas. BEN ROTHENBERG