Serena ready to play in pain

World number one Serena Williams is prepared to fight through pain to get onto the court today, Friday, and begin defending her title at the ATP and WTA Miami Open.

The 19-time Grand Slam singles champion, forced out before her Indian Wells semi-final last week against eventual champion Simona Halep, said on Wednesday  she expected to "manage pain" in her second round game against Romanian Monica Niculescu.

"I'm just managing where I am right now. Just trying to stay out of as much pain as possible and see what happens. I know I'm going to have to manage the pain.

"I think if I'm in that mental state, OK, you might be in a little pain. You just have to figure out the best way around it," Williams said. —  AP