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It is a criticism heard about Serena William’s sometimes, that maybe she dabbles in tennis more than she invests in it, that because she talks about wanting to be an actress or because she doesn’t play 20 tournaments a year, it means she doesn’t care enough.

But then there was Williams on Tuesday, Centre Court at Wimbledon, heaving sobs into a towel, gulping back tears on television, showing powerful and meaningful emotions after her 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 first-round win over Aravance Rezai of France.

Does tennis matter to Williams?

Yes.

Williams, the defending Wimbledon champion but only seeded seventh after she missed 11 months because of foot injuries and a pulmonary embolism last February, let the world see how much tennis does mean to her.

“I love playing,” she said after her win over the 61st-ranked Rezai. “I love being part of the competition.”

Williams’ final point was an emphatic ace, her 13th. That big serve wasn’t unexpected — Williams had 89 aces during her run to the 2010 Wimbledon championship. But the emotional response afterward surprised even Williams.

“I’m not a crier,” she said. “It definitely was emotional for me because, throughout the last 12 months, I’ve been through a lot of things that aren’t normal.… It’s just been a long, arduous road. To stand up still is pretty awesome.”

Among other less emotional winners Tuesday were top-seeded Caroline Wozniaki, six-time champion Roger Federer and John Isner, who beat Frenchman Nicolas Mahut, 7-6 (4), 6-2, 7-6 (6), in a match that took only one day and 2 hours, 3 minutes.

“I’m just really thrilled to have won that third set,” Isner said, “because if I lose that third set, then chances are we don’t finish.”

Last year in the first round, it took Isner three days and 11 hours and 5 minutes of tennis to beat Mahut. 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(7-9), 7-6(7-3), 70-68 in the longest match in history.

But most of the tennis focus Tuesday was on Williams and her comeback.

Andy Roddick, seeded eighth and a 6-4, 7-6 (6), 6-3 winner over Germany’s Andreas Beck, said he enjoyed watching Williams’ return.

“One thing we’ve never questioned with Serena is her competitive spirit,” Roddick said. “I don’t count her out of any situation. She goes from spring training to midseason in like three days.”

James Blake, who lost his first-round match to 32nd-seeded Marcos Baghdatis, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 4-6, 6-4, considers himself a good friend of Serena. He’s also had serious health scares of his own, including a broken bone in his neck.

“Serena’s spent plenty of time in the hospital,” Blake said, “and when you’re in the hospital bed you’re not necessarily thinking about being back on Centre Court. It seems far, far away.

“For her to come back and make that journey, she should be proud and could bring anyone to tears.”

Williams has been fully able to practice for less than a month. She needed to give herself a shot of anticoagulant medication before she flew to England and was sniffling and congested Tuesday from a cold.

Still, in all of the 44 major tournaments that . has played, Williams has never lost in the . round. Until Tuesday, she had never cried after winning so early.

“I think maybe when I won the U.S. Open way back in 1999, I got a little emotional then,” Williams said. “This was probably the most emotional I’ve gotten after a match, after a win.”

via karenvaughn.com