| | Associated Press
TOKYO -- Serena Williams made sure her debut in Japan was
worth the trip, and she even got to test her command of Japanese.
She used a big serve and powerful groundstrokes to beat Julie
Halard-Decugis of France 7-5, 6-1 on Sunday in the final of the
Toyota Princess Cup.
Williams had considered skipping the tournament because of her
tight schedule. The event also came not long after the U.S. Open
and Olympics.
"I'm glad that I came to Japan," she said in near perfect
Japanese as a the capacity crowd of 10,000 laughed and cheered
wildly. "I'll come back for sure. Thank you very much."
The victory, Williams' third this season, was worth $87,000.
Halard-Decugis earned $43,500.
Williams, fresh off winning the Olympic women's doubles with her
sister Venus, pounded out 10 aces. Her heavy shots kept her
fourth-seeded opponent out of position, especially in the second
set.
Williams, seeded second, was always in control. But
Halard-Decugis, seeded fourth, played superbly in defeat.
Leading 6-5, Williams scored the first break of the match,
helped by a couple of errors by Halard-Decugis coupled with her own
winners, including a backhand crosscourt and a forehand to the
baseline that forced the 30-year-old French star to hit a return
long and wide. Again, it was a love game.
"Her serve was good in the beginning, and then it became
stronger and stronger," Halard-Decugis said. "In the second set
it was unbelievably tough and difficult to return."
Halard-Decugis made more unforced errors in the second set and
never threatened again. By contrast, Williams was in excellent
form.
"Yes, today my serve was better for sure. I had a few more aces
and I was getting the contact point a little better," Williams
said. "Overall it was better because whenever you're playing in
any final, no matter what tournament, I always step up my game a
notch."
Halard-Decugis and Ai Sugiyama won the doubles title, defeating
Japan's Nana Miyagi and Argentina's Paola Suarez 6-0, 6-1.
Halard-Decugis and Sugiyama won the U.S. Open doubles title.
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ALSO SEE
Saturday's results
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