Serena and Venus Williams move into second round of doubles at the French Open
The Cat was on the prowl again at Roland Garros as Serena and Venus Williams came back from a set down to move into the second round of the doubles.
Serena in the black catsuit with a slash of red and Venus in more prosaic sports top and skirt beat No 14 seeds Shuko Aoyama and Miyu Kato 4-6, 6-4, 6-1. The sisters have won here in 1999 and 2010, among 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together.
It was another valuable outing for Serena after her first round win in the singles as she continues to build up form and fitness having given birth to baby Olympia in September.
Serena (right) and Venus Williams (left) celebrate after winning their first round doubles tie
Serena Williams once again took to the court wearing her striking black Nike catsuit
Explaining the suit after her singles win against Kristyna Pliskova on Tueday, Serena said: 'It feels like this suit represents all the women that have been through a lot mentally, physically with their body to come back and have confidence and to believe in themselves.
'I feel like a warrior in it, like a warrior princess kind of, queen from Wakanda (in the film Black Panther) maybe. I'm always living in a fantasy world. I always wanted to be a super hero, and it's kind of my way of being a super hero. I feel like a super hero when I wear it.'
For Venus the doubles is her last chance of success at Roland Garros after her fist-round loss to world No 91 Wang Qiang of China.
Serena was probably the stronger of the two sisters. Her movement, the area of her game that looks most in need of improvement, was not exposed as much in doubles.
The Williams sisters towered over Japanese duo Miyu Kato (2nd right) and Shuko Aoyama
It was the first time the sisters had played together since Wimbledon back in 2016
As in her singles win, the most encouraging sign here for Serena was that her fierce competitive spirit does not appear to have been dampened by motherhood.
There were the fist pumps and cries of 'Come on!' and that old steely determination. Her serve is also looking deadly, although she has yet to return to full power. Her reactions were also impressive in the rat-a-tat exchanges at the net.
The Williams sisters have not played doubles together since winning at Wimbledon two years ago and in the first set that lack of practice showed against a pair of canny operators.
Both just over five-feet tall, the Japanese pair cut a striking physical contrast to their opponents. But what the No 14 seeds lacked in power they made up for in speed and doubles nous, scampering around the net and putting away volleys.
Serena and Venus pump their fists after winning the second set of the clash at Roland Garros
The Williams' grew into the match, however, and broke serve for the first time to go 5-3 ahead in the second set. Serena was broken when serving for a the set, but at 5-4 on break point the Cat pounced at the net to put away a backhand volley and force a decider.
By the third set the sisters had found their rhythm, powering into the net and pinning the Japanese pair back. They broke serve twice and Serena served out to love.
Through in the singles, through in the doubles; the Catwoman is beginning to show her superpowers again.