Serena Williams earned her first victory in more than three months by beating 17-year-old qualifier Lisa Pigato 6-3, 6-2 Monday in the first round of the Emilia-Romagna Open.
Williams, who accepted a wild-card invitation for the Parma tournament after losing her opening match at the Italian Open last week, dominated after dropping her serve in the opening game.
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Williams hadn’t won since beating Simona Halep in the Australian Open quarterfinals in February. She was eliminated from the year’s first Grand Slam tournament by Naomi Osaka in the semifinals.
After some time off, Williams then lost in straight sets in Rome to Nadia Podoroska, a French Open semifinalist last year.
Williams is preparing for Roland Garros, which starts in two weeks.
It was the first WTA match for Pigato and the 1,001st for Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam champion.
Williams will next face 68th-ranked Katerina Siniakova, who eliminated Danish teenager Clara Tauson 6-1, 6-3.
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