Serena Williams beats Maria Sakkari in Hopman Cup

American tennis star Serena Williams defeated her counterpart Greek player Maria Sakkari in straight sets in the Hopman Cup singles encounter on Monday.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion beat Sakkari by 7-6(3), 6-2.

"It is great to be back out in match day, and it is great to be back out here. I love playing in Australia. Some of my best memories are here. It was my first match back (today), she played unbelievably. Maria (Sakkari) is super young and such a good player," Women's Tennis Association (WTA) quoted Williams, as saying.

"I was making a lot of errors. I was like, 'It is ok, it is your first match and you will get better.' I just kept trying to think that," she said.

 

However, Williams along with fellow American Frances Tiafoe lost to the Greek duo of Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas by 1-4, 4-1, 2-4 in the mixed doubles.