Serena Williams of the USA returning a shot to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia in a fourth round match on day seven of the 2018 US Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre on Sunday in New York City — AFP NEW YORK, Sept 03 (AFP): Serena Williams booked her spot in the US Open quarter-finals on Sunday, and said the biggest challenge of her post-pregnancy comeback was regaining fitness.
"Coming back from a baby is really hard, harder than I thought," said Williams - drawing a cheer from the crowd on Arthur Ashe Stadium who had watched her 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Estonian Kaia Kanepi.
Her victory came a day after daughter Olympia turned one year old.
Seeking a 23rd Grand Slam title - and her first since the 2017 Australian Open - Williams said the greatest improvement she'd made since her return to competition in March was fitness.
"That was the most important thing for me to improve, was to be fit and be able to stay and play long matches," she said.
Williams was already pregnant when she won her most recent Grand Slam title, at the 2017 Australian Open.
Since returning she has withdrawn with a shoulder injury from the a fourth round match at the French Open, and reached the final at Wimbledon, where she
fell to Angelique Kerber.
Williams, whose recovery from giving birth was complicated by life-threatening blood clots, has been open about her emotional struggles as a new
mother and the difficulty of balancing her commitment to caring for her daughter and her career.
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