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New York - Serena Williams beat good friend Caroline Wozniacki 7-5, 6-4 in an exhibition at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.
The 21-time Grand Slam champion hasn't played a match since losing the Australian Open final on January 30, pulling out of two tournaments because of illness. She's scheduled to return to competition at Indian Wells this week.
There were plenty of mistakes - many punctuated by a shriek - for Williams early on Tuesday, but as she does so often, she somehow was still ahead at the end of the set. The game started to look more familiar: the court coverage, the well-rounded repertoire, the big serves to escape trouble.
Earlier, 16th-ranked Gael Monfils of France beat two-time major champion Stan Wawrinka 7-6 (8/6), 6-3. Two games midway through the second set were played as mixed doubles - Williams and Wozniacki came on to the court in their warm-ups, and Williams teamed with Wawrinka and Wozniacki with Monfils.
