Serena winds back clock in crushing US Open win
Serena Williams is not ready to say goodbye just yet.
In her first match at what is expected to be the last US Open – and last tournament – of her remarkable playing career, Williams overcame a shaky start to overwhelm Danka Kovinic 6-3, 6-3 on Tuesday (AEST) in a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium with an atmosphere more akin to a festival than a farewell.
Early, Williams was not at her best.
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There were double faults. Other missed strokes, missed opportunities.
She went up 2-0, but then quickly trailed 3-2.
Then, suddenly, Williams, less than a month from turning 41, looked a lot more like someone with six championships at Flushing Meadows and 23 grand slam titles in all.
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She rolled through the end of that opening set, capping it with a service winner she reacted to with clenched fists and her trademark cry of “Come on!”
The more than 23,000 in attendance rose for a raucous standing ovation.
There would be more, as Williams carried that terrific level into the second set against Kovinic, a 27-year-old from Montengero.
Williams will continue to play now, facing No.2 seed Anett Kontveit of Estonia.
“I always have tried to do the best I can,” Williams said.
“I feel so comfortable on this court. When I step onto the court, I just want to do the best I can. The crowd was crazy. I was really pumped up. I was like ‘I got this’.”
Serena Williams enters the US Open arena for her final tournament
While Williams did not exactly declare that the US Open definitively would be her last tournament – she also is entered in doubles with Venus, who is 42 and a seven-time major singles champ herself – she has made it sound as if it will be.
“Once Serena announced she would play the US Open, we sold out in a nanosecond for Monday night and Tuesday night… look, this is a historic moment for the Williams family, for Serena and our sport,” said Stacey Allaster, the US Open tournament director.
“It is so difficult to really capture what Serena and Venus have done for the sport of tennis. They have transformed our sport. They’ve made us more inclusive.
“And they’ve transcended sports.”
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