Martic made her mark on the match immediately, winning five straight points and breaking Williams via a deep forehand return after the American had a 40-0 lead in the first game. Williams, however, swiftly struck back, erasing three game points Martic held in the next game before breaking for 1-1 with a forehand winner down the line.

The Croat fended off another break point at 2-2 but was unable to get a look in Williams’s next two service games, as the American edged to a 4-3 lead. There, Williams again pulled herself into contention in another game where Martic had game points, blasting a return winner to set up break point. Williams converted that chance with a winning rally backhand to lead 5-3.

Serving for the set, Williams fired errors and a double fault, giving Martic two chances to put the set right back on serve. Powerful groundstrokes from the long-time World No.1 whisked away those break points, though, and Williams reached set point after Martic missed a service return at deuce. A deft dropshot on Williams’s first opportunity clinched her the one-set lead.

More to follow….