ASB Classic: Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki 'have a blast' in historic doubles match

Serena Williams has made a winning return to Auckland, combining with fellow grand slam champion Caroline Wozniacki to take out their first round doubles match.

The superstar duo were too strong for their Japanese opponents Nao Hibino and Makoto Ninomiya, prevailing 6-2 6-4 in 70 minutes.

At times it had the atmosphere of a festival or exhibition match, as the two former world No 1's, who are close friends off the court, had plenty of laughs of court, in front of an enraptured crowd.

But they are also highly competitive ("we like winning", said Wozniacki), and tended to pull out the magic when they needed it.

Williams is one of the best doubles exponents in history, and was ruthless on any short balls, while Wozniacki, who rarely plays in a duo, found some good angles.

But mainly it was about fun, as they played together for the first time, in Wozniacki's penultimate stop on the WTA tour before she retires.

Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki. Photo / Photosport

"I had a blast, it's so good to play with her, it's like a dream come true," said Williams.

"It's amazing to be able to share the court with Serena and to be able to do it here," echoed Wozniacki. "We were having a blast. Every time I would miss she would be like 'you did a great job'. We got in sync pretty fast. For me, this is probably the most fun I've had. This is great. I wish we had done this sooner.

Both agreed it was ideal preparation for Tuesday's first round singles matches, especially with the windy conditions.

"Instead of just jumping out and playing singles, it was good to get a match," said Williams.

And Williams, who had such a battle with the conditions during her last visit in 2017, seemed to adapt considerably better this time.

"I just tried to work with it. It wasn't that big of a deal today."