WELCOME BACK, SERENA BY SOUTHERN BELLE

Written by: Staff on 14th March 2015

WELCOME BACK, SERENA BY SOUTHERN BELLE

epa04661446 A fan holds up a sign that reads 'Welcome Serena' as Serena Williams of the USA is cheered as she enters the court prior to her match against Monica Niculescu of Romania during their second round match at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, 13 March 2015. Serena Williams is returning to play at India Wells after boycotting the tournament for 14 years. EPA/MICHAEL NELSON EPA/MICHAEL NELSON |

After a 14-year hiatus, Serena Williams made her return to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden last night, welcomed by a full-house crowd that showed its love for the World Number 1 by waving signs and banners and screaming out her name over and over. Those who doubted whether Serena would be welcomed here immediately had those doubts quashed.

Southern Belle was sitting in a suite overlooking Stadium 1 and had a birds-eye view of the entire scene. “Electric” doesn’t begin to describe the atmosphere last night. There was such a buzz going before Serena even entered the stadium. The announcer did an amazing job of pumping up an already-boisterous crowd as the players prepared to walk on court. First out was 49th-ranked Romanian Monica Niculescu who was greeted politely by this overwhelmingly-Serena-leaning crowd. Then, in walked – correction strutted – Ms. Williams, and the decibel level sky-rocketed. Party tunes were being cranked through the sound system as the players warmed up, and Stadium 1 was rocking!

Southern Belle’s suite-mates were making predictions on how long Ms. Niculescu would be able to hang on court. One hour? Forty-five minutes? Would there be a “Golden Set” (where the winner of the set takes every single point)?

But then craziness happened. Niculescu broke Williams to open the match, held her own serve, and took a quick 2-0 lead. Serena couldn’t make heads or tails of Monica’s untraditional slice-and-dice forehand. Her usual rhythm just wasn’t there, and Monica was taking full advantage of the situation. The crowd was buzzing again: What the heck is going on out there? Why isn’t Serena making mincemeat of this challenger?

Serena Williams at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells California. Photo by Alejandro Gonzalez.

In true Serena fashion, though, Williams dug deep and found a way to pull out the first set 7-5. The crowd breathed a collective sigh of relief. After all, they wanted Serena to be around the rest of the tournament, not to go out first round in an upset.

The second set started similar to the first with Serena getting in a hole, but, again, she managed to take advantage of a momentary lapse from Niculescu to win it 7-5 as well.

In her post-match on court interview, Serena admitted that she had trouble finding her groove against Niculescu but was relieved to get through the match and into Round 3.

Serena, we’re glad you’re back in the Desert with us. We sure did miss you!

Topics: BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, Serena Williams, Southern Belle, Tennis

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10sBalls_com says:

March 14, 2015 at 10:42 pm

WELCOME BACK, @serenawilliams BY SOUTHERN BELLE- http://t.co/NWe612Yq6V #tennis #serenareturns #indianwellstennisgarden #BNPPO15 #Serena
agoshamay says:

March 15, 2015 at 12:56 am

RT @GameOnTx: WELCOME BACK, SERENA BY SOUTHERN BELLE:

After a 14-year hiatus, Serena Williams made her return t… http://t.co/R9XIClBai0