Williams Family affair on Court 17

MELBOURNE – Venus off, Serena on.

There are some members of the Williams clan missing on Court 17 Saturday – Serena friend/confidante/hitting partner Sasha Bajin, back home in Germany on “injured reserve”, as Williams put it. Mom Oracene, normally a fixture in Melbourne, also isn’t on hand.

Mom is usually the Serena sunscreen applier; coach Patrick Mouratoglou filled in.

Venus hung out a bit during the beginning of her sister’s practice, having a snack and chatting with people. She looks in splendid form – and in an extraordinarily good mood.

Is Serena on track? Awfully hard to tell from this practice.

Here’s what it looked like:

One thing was for sure: she didn’t serve full out. Not even close. She was practically lobbing them in much as she did against Genie Bouchard in Perth.

Towards the end of her practice, she hit a few a little harder and came forward to hit swing volleys – and even a few traditional ones. But it’s certainly something worth keeping an eye on.

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