LONDON — Serena Williams knew she had to do something — fast.
Down 3-1 to a qualifier on the first day of Wimbledon, the top-ranked player was not about to drop the opening set as she did four times during her run to the French Open title.
"She came out so fast, I was like, 'Oh my God, if I don't start I'm going to be down a set.' And I was tired of being down a set," Williams said.
So the five-time champion got to work, winning 11 of 13 games to beat 113th-ranked Margarita Gasparyan of Russia 6-4, 6-1 on Monday to extend her Grand Slam winning streak to 22 matches as she pursues a fourth straight major title.