ALSO INSIDE

NEW YORK — Serena Williams has won the first match of her return to the U.S. Open.

The No. 17 seed and Palm Beach Gardens resident beat Magda Linette 6-4, 6-0 in the opening match of the Monday night session at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Williams missed last year’s U.S. Open and gave birth to her daugh- »

Halep falls in first round as Murray, Wawrinka win, ter during the tournament on Sept. 1.

She could play older sister Venus, the No. 16 seed, in the third round. Venus defeated 2004 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.

One opponent Serena won’t be facing is top-seeded Simona Halep, who fell to 44th-ranked Kaia Kanepi, 6-2, 6-4, on Monday, becoming the first No. 1-seeded woman to lose her opening match at the U.S. Open in the half-century of the professional era.

Her departure means she can’t stand in the way of Serena Williams, who could have faced Halep in the fourth round. Williams, a 23-time major champion and six- time winner at Flushing Meadows, returned with a flourish, following singer Kelly Clarkson’s opening night performance in Arthur Ashe Stadium with her victory under the lights.

“The first set was tight. It was my first back here in New York, so that wasn’t the easiest,” Williams told the crowd. “Once I got settled, I started doing what I’m trying to do in practice.”