The last time Serena Williams played a Grand Slam match, Andy Murray was the fellow singles world No 1, Maria Sharapova was serving a ban, Roger Federer had not won a Major in around five years and Jelena Ostapenko was a Latvian teenager who hadn’t lifted a single tennis trophy as yet.

486 days later, Serena Williams returned to Grand Slam tennis as world No 451 having played only four competitive matches this year.

A lot has changed since she lifted the Australian Open in 2017, when she was pregnant with her first child unbeknownst to the world. She gave birth to her daughter in September, got married, faced a life-threatening post-natal condition, made a HBO documentary series, and slipped to two early losses in the only two events she played. This was first match on the terre battue since losing the 2016 French open final to the then first-time champion Garbine Muguruza. This was also her first match since the hoopla over her seeding and tennis’s attitude towards new moms.

But what didn’t change when she took the court on Tuesday at Roland Garros for her first-round match against Kristyna Pliskova is that despite the break and lack of seeding, Serena Williams is a champion tennis player. Her 7-6, (7/4), 6-4 win wasn’t flashy or hard-fought, it was effective. Her 13 aces and 29 winners weren’t crushing, but they got the job done. In fact her tennis wasn’t even the biggest talking point of the match, it was her black catsuit – which was the literal embodiment of her superhero senses.

But in the end, it was her smart, sharp tennis that ensured that she made a victorious return. While many theorised that she would not be the same athlete since her break, the biggest takeaways were that her agility and quick movement were very much on display. It helped that she showed her usual nerves of steel even at moments that could be potentially challenging.

A tale of two contrasting sets

The match itself was a tale of two contrasting halves – from the straightforward first set which had no breaks of serve to the second which saw five breaks in the first seven games.

Initially, Serena struggled to read Pliskova’s big serve and the Czech on her part looked nervy. Neither tried to force the pace of the match, the rallies were short – which would have suited Serena just fine – and the points ended quickly, as much through an error as a winner.

Serena had the first and only break point of the set but couldn’t convert and the set went into tiebreak, which provided the first real drama of the match when Pliskova went 3-0 up. This was the moment the momentum could change, but that is when Serena mounted the comeback and took the tiebreak 7-4.

The second set was when we saw some real action that tested the mettle of the former world No 1. There was a lot more emotion involved as well, Serena roared in frustration when she found the net, and later, when she slipped near the net or misread a lob and made a facile error.

The game demanded this sort of emotion as well, stretching to over 12 minutes with seven deuces, as both fought it out tooth and nail. But it was Pliskova who got the first break of the match and a 2-0 lead. This was once again an opening for the world No 70, but the hardened warrior in Serena prevailed again as she started raining down her aggressive groundstroke.

She broke right back and saved a break point at 2-2 which then saw Pliskova sink to her knees in frustration. It was probably that moment when the nervous-looking twin of 6th seed Karolina decided to go for all-or-nothing.

An error-strewn game from Serena saw her broken at 3-3, but she broke right back and held to love consolidating at 5-3. That should have been it, but for the new-found aggression from the Czech which gave her three break-points when Serena was serving for the match. The ensuing melee saw Serena trip at the net and look sheepish as she dusted off the clay. But there was no slip in her game as she closed it on her second match point.

It was evident from her celebration how much this win meant. Serena had even come dressed for the job. “All the moms out there that had a tough pregnancy and have to come back and try to be fierce, in a middle of everything. That’s what this represents. You can’t beat a cat suit, right?’ she said with a smile after the match.

No, nothing can beat the catsuit or Serena’s impeccable style of play.

Pliskova had 34 winners to Serena’s 29, but she made 33 unforced errors to Serena’s 25. More tellingly, Pliskova’s 15 aces were the most any player has hit against Serena since 2009. But in the end it was the American who channeled all her grit and years of experience to win. It was not exactly the stuff of champions, but it definitely was champion stuff.

Serena has still much to do on her return to Roland Garros. She plays Australia’s Ashleigh Barty next and has taken a doubles wildcard with sister Venus. But on her return to Grand Slam tennis, Serena showed that she is back and she belongs.