MELBOURNE, Australia — Serena Williams made a bright start to her Australian Open title defense, holding up one finger and twirling in her neon yellow two-piece outfit to mark victory No. 1 after advancing 6-4, 7-5 over Camila Giorgi on Monday.
Williams withdrew from a warmup tournament because of inflammation in her left knee, so the win over Giorgi was her first completed match since her bid for a calendar-year Grand Slam ended in a semifinal loss at the U.S. Open.
The 21-time major winner was troubled initially by the bright sun while serving from one end of Rod Laver Arena, but didn't show too many signs otherwise of discomfort as she beat the No.