Serena Williams wins on US Open return

Serena Williams trounced Magda Linette on Monday evening to begin her US Open campaign on the perfect note.

Williams’ 6-4 6-0 victory moves the 23-time Grand Slam champion into a second-round clash with German Carina Witthoeft.

Her tidy 70-minute victory, completed on a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium, featured six aces plus 23 winners to Linette’s nine.

“The first set was tight. It was my first match back here in New York (in two years) so that wasn’t the easiest. And once I got settled, I started doing what I’m trying to do in practice and I started to feel a little bit better, so it helped a lot,” Williams said.

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Due to the birth of her daughter in September last year, Serena hasn’t played at the US Open since 2016, when she fell to Karolina Pliskova in the semifinals.

Pliskova, the No.8 seed this year, advanced to the second round with a 6-4 7-6(4) win over Zarina Diyas.

Also progressing in straight sets were defending champion and third seed Sloane Stephens, two-time major champion Garbine Muguruza – a 6-3 6-0 winner over Zhang Shuai – and former world No.1 Victoria Azarenka.

Top 10 seeds Elina Svitolina and Julia Goerges needed three sets to reach the second round, as did 16th seed Venus Williams, a 6-3 5-7 6-3 win over Svetlana Kuznetsova in a first-round blockbuster.

But while those big names got through, there was carnage in Serena’s segment of the draw.

World No.1 Simona Halep was stunned in straight sets by Kaia Kanepi while 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova also fell, ousted by Swede Rebecca Peterson.

And at Grand Slams she has several notable victories:
d. #6 Chakvetadze (RG 2008)
d. #6 Stosur (Wimb 2010)
d. #5 Jankovic (USO 2010)
d. #9 Wozniacki (RG 2012)
d. #7 Kerber (Wimb 2013)
d. #8 Jankovic (Wimb 2014)
d. #1 Halep (USO 2018)

— Tennismash (@tennismash) August 28, 2018

Apart from Venus – whom she is on track to meet in the third round – there are no other seeds standing between Serena and a place in the quarterfinals.

“I think I’m getting there,” said Serena when asked to assess her level. “I’ve been feeling really good in practice and I’ve been training so hard. So I feel like I’m getting there.

“(Tonight) was great. It’s such a good feeling to be back out here. It’s an experience I can only live here in New York and it’s really one of the best feelings in the world.”