Serena Williams isn’t ready to say goodbye just yet. Neither, clearly, are her fans. And he heard them, loud and clear. In her first match at what is expected to be the final US Open — and final tournament — of her remarkable career, even if she insists she won’t say it at all, Williams overcame a shaky start to defeat Danka Kovinic 6- 3. , 6-3 in an atmosphere that feels more like a festival than a farewell. Which memory will stick with her the most from the night? “When I left, the reception was really overwhelming. It was strong and I could feel it in my chest. It was a very good feeling,” said the owner of six US Open championships and 23 Grand Slam titles in total, unsurpassed numbers. any other player in the professional era of the sport. “It’s a feeling I’ll never forget,” he added. “Yeah, that meant a lot to me.” WATCHES | Serena Williams Advances to Round 2:
Serena Williams wins the opening match at the US Open
Facing what could be her final match, Serena Williams won in the first round at the US Open by beating Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic 6-3, 6-3. That opening outing against Kovinic, a 27-year-old from Montenegro ranked 80th, became an event with a capital “E”. Spike Lee participated in the pre-fight coin toss. Former President Bill Clinton was in the stands. So are Mike Tyson and Martina Navratilova, sitting next to each other. And with dad and grandma was Williams’ daughter Olympia, who turns 5 on Thursday, wearing white beads in her hair like mom did when she won the US Open for the first time at age 17 in 1999. Williams is now 40 and told the world three weeks ago via an essay for Vogue that she was ready to focus on having a second child and her venture capital firm. Asked after her win on Monday if this would be the final of the tournament for good, Williams replied with a knowing smile: “Yeah, I was pretty vague about that, right?” He then added: “I’m going to stay vague, because you never know.” The night session drew 29,000 people, a tournament high — more than 23,000 were at Ashe. thousands more watched on a video screen outside the arena — and the place was as loud as ever. Certainly louder than any other first round match in memory. Both players called the decibel level “crazy.” Kovinich said she couldn’t hear the ball coming off the strings of Williams’ racket — not even her own. We ❤️ Serena pic.twitter.com/MJCCWgrzDT —@usopen Early on, Williams wasn’t at her best. Perhaps it was the importance of the moment. There were double faults. More missed strokes, missed opportunities. He went up 2-0, but then quickly went down 3-2. Then, suddenly, Williams looked more like the champion she’s been for decades and less like the player who came into this match with a 1-3 record since returning to action in late June after nearly a year off the tour. “At this point, honestly, everything is a bonus for me, I feel,” Williams said. “It’s good that I was able to get it under my belt… I just don’t even think about it. I just think about this moment. I think it’s good for me to live in the moment now.” She cruised to the end of that opening set, closing it out with a service winner that she responded to with clenched fists and her trademark shout of “Come on!” This was met with thunderous cheers and applause – as was the end of the 1 hour 40 minute contest, as if another trophy had been won. Instead, there is much more work to be done. Williams will play No. 2 seed Annette Kondveit of Estonia in the second round of singles on Wednesday. And there are doubles, too: Williams and her sister, Venus, are in this competition together, with their opening match scheduled for Wednesday or Thursday. “Just keep supporting me,” Williams told viewers, “while I’m here.”
2019 US Open champion Andreescu demolished Tan
Bianca Andreescu advanced to the second round of the US Open with a 6-0, 3-6, 6-1 win over France’s Harmony Tan on Monday in New York. Andreescu, ranked 50th in the world heading into the final Grand Slam of the season, put the game away on her second match point when Tan missed a forehand volley. The 22-year-old from Mississauga, Ont. and 2019 US champion, improved her all-time record to 11-1 in the tournament. Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., eliminated Harmony Tan in her first-round match at the US Open on Monday when the French player missed a forehand volley. She will next face Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia. (John Minchillo/Associated Press) Andreescu started the match with a dominant first set, dropping just eight points. He won 14 points in a row between the fourth and sixth races. Tan came back with a strong second set, scoring two early breaks and jumping out to a 4-0 lead. Andreescu cut the lead to 5-3, but Tan served out to love in the deciding game to level the match at one set. WATCHES | Andreescu wins 6 of 9 break points in 1st round win:
Bianca Andreescu shows flashes of dominance as she advances to the 2nd round of the US Open
2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., defeated France’s Harmony Tan 6-0, 3-6, 6-1 in the first round at Flushing Meadows. Andreescu returned to form in the third set, scoring an early break in Game 2 to take a 3-0 lead. Tan won on serve to cut the lead to 3-1, but Andreescu responded at love in Game 5, then came back from 40-0 down to score the break and lead 5-1. Serving for the match, Andreescu cruised to victory in her second match. Tan had 28 unforced errors and eight double faults in the match, compared to 17 unforced errors and just one double fault for Andreescu. WATCHES | Andreescu kicked out of National Bank Open by Zheng:
Canada’s Bianca Andreescu is out of the National Bank Open
Bianca Andreescu lost to China’s Zheng Qinwen 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 on Thursday at the National Bank Open. Andreescu won six of nine break points and saved one of the three she faced. Andreescu will next face National Bank Open finalist Beatrice Haddad Maya of Brazil, who won 6-0, 6-0 over Croatia’s Ana Konjuh. WATCHES | Andreescu wins US Open 2019 title:
Match Description: Andreescu makes history with US Open win over Williams
Bianca Andreescu becomes the first Canadian in history to win a Grand Slam singles title with a straight-sets win over Serena Williams. Vancouver native Rebecca Marino will also advance to the second round with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Poland’s Magdalena Frech. Marino, 31, won four of her seven break points to go along with 19 winners in the match. WATCHES | Winner in the 1st round Marino:
Rebecca Marino of Vancouver advances to the US Open
Rebecca Marino of Vancouver advanced to the second round of the US Open with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Poland’s Magdalena Frech. She will next face Daria Snigur, who upset seventh seed Simona Halep 6-2, 0-6, 6-4. Later on Monday, Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., who advanced to the 2021 US Open final before losing to Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu, was scheduled to face France’s Oceane Dodin in the evening. In the men’s singles, sixth-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal struggled with his serve at times, but he made quick work of Switzerland’s Alexander Ritschard 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Auger-Aliassime had 13 aces in the match, eight double faults and won four of eight break points. WATCHES | Auger-Aliassime advanced to Round 2:
Felix Auger-Aliassime enters the 2nd round of the US Open
Last year’s semifinalist Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal advanced to the second round of the US Open with a 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over Switzerland’s Alexander Ritschard.
Top Medvedev cruises past Kozlov
Daniil Medvedev made an easy start to his US Open title defense, beating Stefan Kozlov 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 on Monday. Simona Halep had another early exit, this one coming in a memorable first tour-level win for Ukraine’s Snigur. Snigur upset the No. 7 seed 6-2, 0-6, 6-4, then fought through tears to explain what the win meant to her family and her country, which is at war with Russia. On the same Arthur Ashe Stadium court where Serena Williams began the final tournament of her career with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Danka Kovinic on Monday night, top-seeded Medvedev looked just as strong as he did in overcoming Novak Djokovic in last year’s final for his first major title. Smooth start for the defending champion! pic.twitter.com/9WA597JDUg —@usopen Medvedev advanced to face France’s Arthur Ridderknecht. The Russian is trying to become the first repeat champion at the US Open since Roger Federer won five in a row from 2004-08. “I have to be at my best on Wednesday and I will try to do that,” Medvedev said.
Andy Murray in 2nd round with early upset
Andy Murray was another early winner, 10 years after winning the first of three Grand Slam titles at Flushing Meadows. He had one of the first upsets of the tournament by beating No. 24 Francisco Cerudolo of Argentina 7-5, 6-3, 6-3. “It seems like a long time ago,” Murray said of his win over Djokovic in 2012. “A lot has happened since then in my career.” Djokovic could not travel to the tournament this year because he has not been vaccinated against COVID-19. Fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas won’t stay in it after losing the first 11 games to qualifier Daniel Elahi Galan before going down 6-0, 6-1, 3-6, 7-5. Many fans arrive for the day session at the final Grand Slam event…
