Greece beats the US on Serena Williams’s return

Greece defeated the US 2-1 in its second round-robin match at the Hopman Cup in Perth on Monday, as Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas overcame the resistance of a Serena Williams-powered US doubles team for the first Greek victory in the tournament.

In the encounter’s first match Greek champion Tsitsipas beat American Frances Tiafoe 6-3 6-7(3) 6-3, before Williams, in her first competitive action since the US Open final, saw off Sakkari 7-6(3) 6-2 to level the Group B contest at 1-1.

Williams beat her far younger opponent even though the 37-year-old required medical attention during the match and had both of her ankles strapped.

However in the doubles match the Greek team of Tsitsipas and Sakkari emerged victorious 2-1 (4-1 1-4 4-2) over Williams and Tiafoe to win the tie by the same score.