WHY: Serena Williams
has always been a classic.
The
40-year-old American advanced to the second round of the US Open with a victory
over 80th-ranked Danka Kovinic of Montenegro on Opening Night in a sold-out,
celebrity-filled Arthur Ashe Stadium, becoming just the fourth woman in the
Open Era to win matches in her teens, 20s, 30s, and 40s.
Williams improved to a
perfect 21-0 in the first round at Flushing Meadows, matching the
accomplishment of her sister Venus Williams, Hall of Famer Martina Navratilova,
and Japanese player Kimiko Date.
Most of the
attendance record of 29,402 people, which included celebrities like Bill
Clinton, Hugh Jackman, Spike Lee, Mike Tyson, Lindsey Vonn, and Queen Latifah,
were there to see the most dominant woman's tennis player of the Open Era, who
won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, including a co-record six at the USTA Billie
Jean King National Tennis Center. The fanatical crowd displayed their loyalty
from the first ball with signs like "Welcome to the Williams Show,"
"Queen of the Court," and "Thank you, Serena!" scattered
across the stadium.
Those supporters should have at least one more opportunity to
witness her this week when she competes in singles.
The response was "very
tremendous" when Williams stepped out, he claimed. "I could feel it
in my chest, and it was loud. It was a very positive sensation. I'll never forget
how I felt. That really touched me.
"I was just wondering, 'Is this really happening? Really?’
I'm simultaneously considering that I still have a game to play and that I want
to be able to live up to this reception. That was loud. Just feeling overpowered
in a nice way. It appears you must be laser-focused
and focused. I tried to accomplish it because that was what I needed to do.
You couldn't help but feel
bad for Kovinic, the lone representative of the tiny Balkan nation with little
over 600,000 people to have ever taken part in a Grand Slam. The 27-year-old
has competed in three WTA Finals and on several significant stages. She
advanced earlier this year to the third round of both the
Naturally, there were a few .
In the first six games of the first set, there were four service breaks, with
neither player establishing much of a rhythm. In the eighth game, Williams was
able to pull away, breaking her opponent at love for a 5-3 lead. She would
serve out the opening set in 55 minutes, her black Nike outfit sparkling like
the night sky.
WHY: Serena Williams has always been
a classic.
The 40-year-old American advanced to
the second round of the US Open with a victory over 80th-ranked Danka Kovinic
of Montenegro on Opening Night in a sold-out, celebrity-filled Arthur Ashe
Stadium, becoming just the fourth woman in the Open Era to win matches in her
teens, 20s, 30s, and 40s.
Williams who teamed up
the USTA/Darren Carroll
The response was "very tremendous" when Williams
stepped out, he claimed. "I could feel it in my chest, and it was loud. It
was a very positive sensation. I'll never forget how I felt. That really
touched me.
"I was just wondering, 'Is this really happening?
Really?’ I'm simultaneously considering that I still have a game to play and
that I want to live up to this reception. That was loud. Just
feeling overpowered in a nice way. It appears you
must be laser-focused and focused. I tried to accomplish it because that was
what I needed to do.
You couldn't help but feel bad for Kovinic, the lone
representative of the tiny Balkan nation with little over 600,000 people to
have ever taken part in a Grand Slam. The 27-year-old has competed in three
WTA finals and on several significant stages. She advanced to the third round
of the Australian Open at Roland Garros earlier this year. I tasked her with
ending the career of a home-Slam favourite whose renown long ago went beyond
the realm of sports, but she entered Monday's blockbuster riding a five-match
losing run.
Naturally, there were a few jitters.
In the first six games of the first set, there were four service breaks, with
neither player establishing much of a rhythm. In the eighth game, Williams was
able to pull away, breaking her opponent at love for a 5-3 lead. She would
serve out the opening set in 55 minutes, her black Nike outfit sparkling like
the night sky.
Kovinic fired a forehand beyond the baseline when serving at
2-all and 15-40 in the second set, giving Williams the break and all the
momentum she would need.
Williams' serve, arguably the single most powerful weapon in
the history of women's tennis, occasionally let her down in the first set, but
she really found her groove in the second. In the one-hour, 39-minute match,
she made 43 of her 66 first serves and finished with nine aces to six double
faults. It was Williams' second victory in just her fifth match at the tour
level in the previous 13 months.
Olympia Williams, who like her mother did when she first won
the title here as a teenager in 1999, sat courtside to see the action while
donning beads in her hair.
WHAT IT MEANS: Williams' situation does not improve as she
advances to play No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit of Estonia, who defeated Jaqueline
Adina Cristian of Romania 6-3, 6-0.
At this point, everything is truly a bonus for me, Williams
admitted. "I believe that every opponent is highly challenging. I've
witnessed that all summer. The following one is even harder.
Williams had won matches against opponents from 48 different nations, but up until Monday, she had never encountered a Montenegrin opponent.
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