Serena feels like she is on the road to getting better
SERENA WILLIAMS took the first cautious step towards a record-equalling 24th grand slam title with a 6-4 6-0 first-round win over Magda Linette on Monday as an excited US Open crowd welcomed the new tennis mother back to the “Big Apple”.
It was not the imposing performance many have come to expect from Serena as the six-time champion continued to scrape the rust off her game following the birth of her first child.
The manner of the victory, however, mattered little to a home crowd that was just happy to see her back on court after sitting out last year.
“It is such a great feeling to be back out here,” said Serena. “It is one of those feeling I only get here in New York.”
Telling the crowd that her spirit was broken after not saying goodbye to her daughter Olympia before leaving for her match, Serena displayed little appetite for a fight during an uneven opening set until she finally seized control with a break to go up 4-3.
Serena, the winner of 72 career singles titles, has the ability to sense when she has an opponent on the ropes and moved in quickly to deliver the knockout punch, breaking the 68th ranked Pole to open the second.
While her game might not have been firing on all cylinders, her ruthlessness remained razor sharp as the American showed no hesitation storming through the second set finishing off her opponent with a thundering ace.
The Williams sisters bridged the afternoon and evening sessions on a steamy Arthur Ashe with Venus providing the opening act of the twin bill, grinding out a 6-3 5-7 6-3 victory over another former champion, Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, before handing the stage over to her younger sibling. The wins put the sisters on a collision course, leaving them just one victory away from a third-round showdown.
While Venus remains a potential obstacle standing in the way of a 24th grand slam, Serena’s path to the final was cleared of another major hurdle earlier on Monday when world number one Simona Halep was upset by Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi.
“There’s still several matches to play before you’re there,” said Serena about a possible meeting with her sister. “Right now I just feel like I’m on the road to getting better. I’m just going to be on that road till I get there.”
It might not have been a stylish win over Linette, but it was nonetheless a stylish display by Serena.
As always, the fashion conscious Serena created a buzz as she appeared from the players tunnel under a spotlight wearing a leather style jacket over a frilly off the shoulder tennis dress and fishnet compression tights designed to help circulation and avoid blood clots.
“It’s easy to play in, kind of aerodynamic with the one arm free,” said Serena. “The tutu is easy to play in because I practiced in it before. That was fun.”
Defending champion Rafa Nadal progressed to the second round of the US Open on Monday after fellow Spaniard David Ferrer retired midway through the second set due to a calf injury.
Nadal, the world number one, breezed through the first set without facing a break point but the 36-year-old Ferrer fought back in the second, breaking Nadal twice before the injury forced him to stop with the score at 6-3 3-4.
Ferrer, whose decision to retire brings the curtain down on his final appearance at a grand slam, said he had taken an injection before the match but was in obvious discomfort and needed treatment courtside before he decided to quit.
“I feel bad,” he said in a courtside interview. “I had one shot in my calf and there was pain. I tried to play. I tried.
“I’m so sorry because I can’t finish the match, but anyway, thanks a lot.”
Nadal, who like his opponent was sweating profusely in the oppressively humid conditions, paid tribute to Ferrer, whom he beat in the 2013 French Open final.
“I’m very sorry for him. He’s one of my closest friends on the tour and we faced many amazing moments together,” Nadal said. “It’s sad for him to finish like this.” – Reuters