Australian Open 2021 - 'It feels different' - Why this could be Serena Williams's time for 24th Slam

Updated 10/02/2021 at 05:39 GMT

Could this be the year that Serena Williams finally completes her remarkable comeback to the game after giving birth to her daughter with a 24th Grand Slam singles title? Eurosport expert Annabel Croft is loving what she is seeing from the American superstar so far at the 2021 Australian Open in Melbourne.

Serena Williams of the US celebrates after winning against Serbia's Nina Stojanovic during their women's singles match on day three of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne

Image credit: Getty Images

Serena Williams is playing with such joy and freedom so far it feels different to other Grand Slams in recent years, according to Eurosport's Annabel Croft.

The former world number one cruised into the third round of the Australian Open with an emphatic 6-3 6-0 win over Nina Stojanovic in one hour and nine minutes.

After a slightly shaky opening game, Serena, converted her fourth break point in the third as Stojanovic played a limp backhand into the net.

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It took just 44 minutes for Serena to overcome the unseeded Serb in a tough opening set, and the 23-Grand Slam winner went on to bagel her opponent.

Eurosport commentator Croft was very struck by both Williams's play and also her sunny disposition believing it has marked a change on the court.

'It just feels different' - Croft on Serena's happy tennis

"It just feels really different," Croft said on commentary after the match on Rod Laver Arena.

"In previous Grand Slams we've watched her in you could feel and sense the stress.

"You can completely understand what she is going through and what she is feeling.

But it just feels different this Grand Slam. I think she is extremely happy, she is in a great place.

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"I think, probably for a lot of tennis players, they have spent so much time at home, which they don't often get to do.

"Something is feeling really good for her this time."

In securing her progress to the next round, Williams will next take on a rising star, 19-year-old Russian Anastasia Potapova.

She may have come up just short in four Grand Slam finals in her comeback after becoming a mother for the first time in 2017, but this could be the time for Serena to secure her elusive 24th singles title.