(Reuters) - In her final tune-up tournament before the U.S. Open, Serena Williams put herself back on the winning track with a 7-5 6-3 win over Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova in her opening match at the Western & Southern Open on Wednesday.
Williams prevailed in 90 minutes and showed none of the rare struggles that dogged her during last week's semi-final loss to Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic in Toronto.
The defending Cincinnati champion, who will aim for a rare sweep of the four grand slam events at the Aug. 31-Sept. 13 U.S. Open, broke Pironkova's serve once in each set and then sealed the win in style with her 15th ace of the match.