A great Monday is coming for us in Rome. The 18-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime will open his campaign on the Central Court against Borna Coric. The Canadian leads the head to head meeting 1-0 having won in this year's Miami Open. Then at 1:00 PM Serena Williams will start her clay season facing Rebecca Peterson. The American already defeated the Swede this year in Miami, then Marco Cecchinato will open his run against Alex De Minaur. The defending French Open semifinalist will try to defeat the Australian for the first time in career after that De Minaur won in last year's Wimbledon first round. The night session will be headlined by Fabio Fognini who faces Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, followed by the local hero Jasmine Paolini against Sofia Kenin. Fognini defeated Tsonga only once, in their most recent meeting, 2017 Indian Wells. On the Grandstand Fernando Verdasco faces Kyle Edmund followed by Lorenzo Sonego against Karen Khachanov. Meanwhile in Madrid Novak Djokovic faced Stefanos Tsitsipas for the second time in career on Sunday in the Madrid Open final. The Serbian player lost to the 20-year-old Greek in last year's Toronto Rogers Cup, the tournament that marked the Athens native' breakthrough to the highest level. Djokovic conquered his 74th career-title, while for Tsitsipas it would have been the fifth, including the third this year after Marseille and Estoril. Tsitsipas defeated the home hero Rafael Nadal in a three-set semifinal, while Djokovic delivered a great level to take Dominic Thiem out. Analyzing his win over Thiem, Djokovic said: "Very difficult conditions to play in. This is the fastest conditions that I've played in this tournament so far. A very heavy ball from his side and next to Rafa he probably is the player with most spin and rotation on the ball, so it's very hard to kind of dictate the play.<doc-sep>TPN/Getty Images Serena Williams made a winning return to the court as she beat Rebecca Peterson 6-4, 6-2 in the first round of the 2019 Italian Open on Monday. A four-time champion at the Rome Masters, Williams started slowly against her Swedish opponent, but she eventually found her groove to claim victory in 75 minutes. The 37-year-old will face her sister Venus in the next round, who overcame Elise Mertens in three sets. Elsewhere in the women's draw, Great Britain's Johanna Konta downed American Alison Riske in straight sets. Meanwhile, in the men's tournament, 10th seed Fabio Fognini was too good for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, as he moved into the last-32 with a routine win. Selected Monday Results Men's Singles Video Play Button Videos you might like (10) Fabio Fognini bt. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: 6-3, 6-4 (11) Karen Khachanov bt. Lorenzo Sonego: 6-3, 6-7 (1), 6-3 (13) Borna Coric bt. Felix Auger-Aliassime: 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-4 Albert Ramos Vinolas bt. (15) Gael Monfils: 6-3, 6-1 (16) Marco Cecchinato bt. Alex De Minaur: 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 Women's Singles (10) Serena Williams bt. Rebecca Peterson: 6-4, 6-2 (13) Madison Keys bt. Polona Hercog: 6-4, 7-6 (3) (14) Anett Kontaveit bt. Mona Barthel: 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 Katerina Siniakova bt. (15) Qiang Wang: 1-6, 7-5, 6-4 Full results and schedule can be found via the Pro Tennis Live app. Monday Recap Williams' last competitive appearance came almost two months ago at the Miami Open, when she beat Peterson in the second round before having to withdraw from the competition due to a knee injury. Against the same opponent on Monday, the legendary American immediately looked to get on the front foot as she earned early break points. She failed to take them, though, and then double-faulted twice in the fourth game of the match to go 3-1 behind to 23-year-old Peterson. That dropped service game prompted Serena to move up a gear and she won five of the next six games to take the set in 38 minutes. Given the injury and time off, it was impressive stuff from the 23-time Grand Slam champion, who has enjoyed immense success on clay despite it not being her best surface. Williams showed fine variation with some excellent net play, produced some stunning winners off the backhand side and won 10 of 12 points behind her first serve: The one-way traffic continued into the second set despite Peterson's best efforts. Serena broke for a 2-1 lead and then produced one of the points of the match to get a double break at 5-2. After approaching the net and being dragged around the court by Peterson, Williams showed she still boasts immense athleticism to produce a forehand crosscourt winner: It was far from routine as she served out the match, however, as she went 15-40 behind only to produce a backhand down-the-line winner and an ace. Williams eventually forced Peterson long to wrap up the match on the opening day of action in the Italian capital. Her sister Venus appears to be in fine form at this competition too, as she held off a spirited fightback from Mertens. The Belgian dug deep to stay in the match, before Williams secured progression in a tiebreak: Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times looked back on when the siblings last met in the Italian capital: In the men's draw, the top-ranked player to progress was Fognini, making light work of a potentially dangerous opponent in Tsonga. On Tuesday we'll see more big names for the first time. Fourth seeds Alexander Zverev and Karolina Pliskova will begin their pursuit of glory in Rome.<doc-sep>Williams was back in action in only her fourth tournament of the season and the first since being forced to withdraw from the Miami Open in March due to a knee injury. The 37-year-old American fell behind 3-1 but recovered with a string of powerful groundstrokes from the baseline, clinching five of the next six games for the opening set. Peterson, the world number 64, dug deep to grab two break points in the final game of the match but Williams saved both, before wrapping up the win in an hour and 15 minutes. ATP Belgrade Djokovic overcomes lapse to book spot in Belgrade final 12 MINUTES AGO Williams, a 23-times Grand Slam singles champion, has finished runner-up at two of the last three majors but been unable to add to her tally since returning to the sport following the birth of her first child in 2017. Williams, who has dropped to number 11 in the world rankings, will next face the winner of the first round clash between her sister Venus and reigning Qatar Open champion Elise Mertens. After an opening round exit at the Madrid Open last week, former world number one Garbine Muguruza scored her first win in over a month as she eased past China's Zheng Saisai 6-3 6-4. Roland-Garros Barty delighted to be back in Paris AN HOUR AGO<doc-sep>
The four-time Rome champion Serena Williams has won the first match on clay outside Roland Garros since Rome 2016, ousting Rebecca Peterson 6-4, 6-2 in an hour and 15 minutes to kick off title chase. This is only the fourth WTA tournament of the season for world no. 11, losing to Karolina Pliskova in the quarter-final of the Australian Open and retiring against Garbine Muguruza at Indian Wells before withdrawing in Miami. Her last match came against Peterson and she managed to beat the Swede again today, firing ten aces and dropping 13 points in nine service games. Peterson broke her once but that wasn't enough for a more favorable result, spraying too many errors and suffering four breaks from ten chances offered to Serena. The 23-time Grand Slam champion tamed her shots nicely, moving around the court well and reducing the number of unforced errors, one of the key elements in her win today. The Swede fended off a few break points in the early games and broke Serena for a 3-1 lead after a loose forehand from the American, staying ahead only for a couple of minutes before Williams broke back in game five with a forehand return winner. Serving at 3-3, Rebecca got broken again when her forehand landed long and Serena closed the opener with a serve at 15 in game ten for a 6-4 after 38 minutes. Williams played even better in set number two, securing a break in game three after a backhand mistake from Peterson and moving 5-2 up after a fantastic point and a crosscourt forehand winner. Serving for the triumph in the next game, Serena repelled two break points and sealed the deal after yet another forehand error from the Swede, booking the second round clash against her sister Venus or Elise Mertens.