The 23-time Grand Slam winner — who earlier this month signalled she plans to retire from tennis after the match — drew on all of her expertise to down lowly ranked Montenegrin opponent Danka Kovinic 6-3, 6-3.
Williams, who turns 41 subsequent month, had crushed Spain’s Nuria Parrizas Diaz on Monday for her first singles victory because the 2021 French Open, 14 months in the past. Picture: WTA/Twitter.
NEW YORK – Serena Williams delayed her farewell to tennis on an electrifying opening evening on the US Open on Monday as the sporting icon battled to victory in entrance of a star-studded crowd.
The 23-time Grand Slam winner — who earlier this month signalled she plans to retire from tennis after the match — drew on all of her expertise to down lowly ranked Montenegrin opponent Danka Kovinic 6-3, 6-3.
A galaxy of celebrities starting from Hollywood stars, vogue icons and former presidents had been out in power at Flushing Meadows’ Arthur Ashe Stadium to look at might have been Williams ultimate look in a Grand Slam singles match.
But the 40-year-old ensured that her legions of followers can have a minimum of another likelihood to savor her skills as she dug out victory regardless of an error-strewn show.
“I feel so comfortable on this court and in front of everyone here,” a jubilant Williams mentioned after her victory.
“The crowd was crazy – they really helped pull me through. I was really pumped,” added Williams, who received the primary of her Grand Slam titles in the identical enviornment in 1999 as a 17-year-old prodigy.
Williams admitted that deciding to stroll away from the game after 27 years as knowledgeable was “such a hard decision.”
“I think when you are passionate about something it is always hard to walk away,” she mentioned. “I have been trying to decide what to do. I love this game.
“But I used to be identical to ‘Alright, I feel now’s the time’. I’ve a household, there’s different chapters in life. I name it evolution.”
Williams later refused to be definitive about her retirement however when asked if the US Open would be her last tournament, teasing the possibility that she may yet play on.
“I’ve been fairly obscure about it, proper?” she said. “I’m going to remain obscure since you by no means know.”
A sell-out crowd of 23,500 had roared its appreciation for Williams as she strode into the arena wearing a striking sparkling bodice and black skirt comprised of six layers — one for every US Open title she has won.
The roll-call of A-listers on hand for the occasion included former US President Bill Clinton, Vogue editor Anna Wintour, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, tennis legend and Hollywood stars such as Hugh Jackman and Queen Latifah.
Williams acknowledged that leaving the spotlight — whenever that is — would be a wrench.
“The extra tournaments I play, I really feel just like the extra I can belong on the market,” she said. “That’s a troublesome feeling to have, to go away realizing the extra you do it, the extra you possibly can shine.”
TSITSIPAS STUNNED
In other women’s draw action on Monday, former world number one Simona Halep, seeded seventh, was the biggest casualty in the first round, crashing out 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 to Ukrainian qualifier Daria Snigur.
But there were no such problems for US teenager and 12th seed Coco Gauff, who cruised past France’s Leolia Jeanjean 6-2, 6-3.
Meanwhile the men’s draw got under way with a stunning upset for Greek fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who was bundled out by Colombian qualifier Daniel Elahi Galan 6-0, 6-1, 3-6, 7-5.
Earlier, Russia’s defending champion Daniil Medvedev routed Stefan Koslov of the United States in the top half of the draw.
The Russian comfortably dispatched world No.111 Kozlov 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 in 2hrs 1min.
Medvedev, bidding to become the first man to defend the US crown since Roger Federer retained the title in 2008, faces France’s Arthur Rinderknech in the second round.
Britain’s Andy Murray, another veteran well into the twilight of his career, marked the 10th anniversary of his maiden Grand Slam win with a straight sets defeat of Argentinian 24th seed Francisco Cerundolo.
The 35-year-old Scot showed no signs of recent cramping problems in a 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 win, but admitted afterwards: “It felt like 5 units.”
It was Murray’s first straight units win at a Grand Slam occasion since 2017.
Elsewhere Monday, Wu Yibing claimed a chunk of historical past within the males’s draw, changing into the primary man from China to win a Grand Slam singles match since 1959.
The qualifier upset Georgia’s thirty first seed Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-3, 6-4, 6-0.
But there was agony for China’s different participant within the males’s draw, Zhang Zhizhen who squandered seven match factors in a 3-6, 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (11/9), 6-1, 6-4 defeat to Tim Van Rijthoven of the Netherlands.
Spain’s Rafael Nadal, chasing a fifth US Open crown and twenty third Grand Slam title total, begins his marketing campaign on Tuesday towards Australia’s Rinky Hijikata.