Serena Williams has final say on her and Andy Murray’s mixed doubles name
The pair won their first match on Saturday night.
Serena Williams briefly went back to the day job before deciding once and for all on a name for her Wimbledon mixed doubles partnership with Andy Murray.
Williams got back to business in the singles with a comprehensive 6-2 6-2 victory over Carla Suarez Navarro.
Then she revealed ‘Murena’, rather than ‘Serandy’, should be the moniker for her superstar coupling with Murray.
“We haven’t discussed it,” she said. “He did tweet Serandy. I was like, ‘I like Murena’. My vote is still for Murena.
“It’s great. I definitely have been really enjoying the mixed doubles, this pairing. Quite frankly, it’s pretty cool. It’s pretty awesome.”
Williams, sporting a child’s plaster on her left elbow, never looked like coming unstuck against the world number 31.
Two breaks of serve gave her the first set in just 31 minutes, the highlight a stunning flicked backhand across the helpless Suarez Navarro.
Williams also looked more confident at the net than in her previous matches, so maybe the Murray link-up is paying off.
Two more breaks at the start of the second put Williams in total control, although Suarez Navarro did at least lay a glove on her with a surprise break to love.
It was only a temporary blip, as Williams broke back before serving out the match to set up a meeting with fellow American Alison Riske, who knocked out world number one and top seed Ashleigh Barty, in the last eight.
Williams, who was sidelined by a knee injury earlier in the year, added: “The rust is definitely wearing off.
“Most of all I feel confident that I can actually move and I don’t have to, like, go for winners so soon because I’m in pain.
“It’s like, ‘oh, now I can just play my game, hit shots, not have to worry about anything else’. It’s good when your mind is clear and you can just play.”
