French Open return: Serena Williams confident she is on right track

Serena ended her 15-month absence from tennis during which she gave birth to daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr in March this year.

Serena Williams celebrates after defeating Kristyna Pliskova in their first round match of the French Open 2018 | AP

PARIS: Just eight months after she "almost died" giving birth to her first child, former world number one and American tennis ace Serena Williams believes she is on right track after making a winning start at the French Open.

Serena ended her 15-month absence from tennis during which she gave birth to daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr in March this year.

But, the former world number one slumped to early defeats in Indian Wells and Miami Open before she recently pulled out of Madrid Open and Rome Masters--something which saw her world ranking tumble to number 453.

Serena, who was denied seeding at the Roland Garros, made a successful return to her first Grand Slam tournament since giving birth by clinching a comfortable 7-6 (4), 6-4 win over 70th-ranked Kristyna Pliskova of the Czech Republic in the French Open.

Though it was not a perfect performance, the 23-time Grand Slam champion admitted that it was encouraging enough to help her improve and get back on track.

"I feel like I'm on the right track. I have been putting a lot of work in on the court, off the court, on the court, on the court, off the court, that's kind of been my life. I have been really enjoying it," the WTA quoted Serena, as saying.

Serena further insisted that she has been serving quite well as compared to what she was performing a few months ago, however, adding that there is still a need for improvement.

"I think I'm serving pretty good, better than a few months ago. I definitely feel like I can still improve on that a great deal, like, my speed on my serve isn't as fast as I normally hit it, but also I didn't really try to hit it that much. I was going more for placement," she said.

"But, you know me. I really feel like I can improve on literally everything, and that's the great thing, as I feel like I can improve and there is room for improvement, and that means I can get better," the three-time French Open champion said.

Despite being back to challenge the French Open title for the fourth time, Serena insisted that her daughter Alexis still remains her priority.

"My priority is Olympia. No matter what, that's my priority. I have given tennis so much, and tennis has actually given me a lot, and I couldn't be more grateful. She's my priority, and I work everything around her," she said.

Serena, who is also featuring in the women's doubles event of the French Open alongside her elder sister Venus, will now lock horns with 17th seed Ashleigh Barty of Australia in the second round of the women's singles event.