By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, August 29, 2022
Serena Williams high-stepped into the US Open second with a 6-3, 6-3 sweep of Danka Kovinic before a wildly supportive crowd.
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NEW YORK—Gazing around a roaring Arthur Ashe Stadium, Serena Williams embraced love and showed retirement the door.
Launching her final US Open appearance, Williams was in no mood for good-byes tonight.
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Transforming Arthur Ashe Stadium in a shake shack, Williams high-stepped into the US Open second with a 6-3, 6-3 sweep of Danka Kovinic before a wildly supportive crowd emotionally invested in every point the former world No. 1 played.
The 40-year-old superstar smacked nine aces, saved eight of 10 break points and grew stronger as the 99-minute match progressed.
Afterwards, Arthur Ashe Stadium fans celebrated Serena with a mass message turning over blue placards to spell out "We Love Serena."
It was a celebration of the 23-time Grand Slam champion and Serena's staying power.
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Twenty-three years after Serena swept singles and doubles championships at the 1999 US Open, she extended her stay in her farewell to Flushing Meadows.
"It's so important to give your all no matter what you do," Williams told Gayle King and fans in her on-court interview. "No matter how many obstacles you face, you just never give up.
"No matter what you're going through, I wanted people to be inspired by my story. I'm from Compton, California and I made it."
Earlier this month, Williams, who is uncomfortable using the term "retirement" announced her plan to "evolve" away from tennis with this US Open farewell. A beaming Serena soaked in spirited crowd support throughout the match and credited fans after improving to 107-14 lifetime at the US Open.
"I didn't expect any of this," Williams said. "I always just gotta do the best that I can. I feel so comfortable on this court and in front of everyone here. I just want to do the best I can do on that particular day and that's really all I can do. The crowd was crazy and it really helped me pull through. I was really pumped and I was like yes I got this."
There were jitters and drama early as Williams faced break points in her first three service games and four of her first five service games. Williams won just eight of 22 second-serve points, but amped up her aggression considerably after building a one-set lead. Swinging more freely, Williams won 14 of 19 trips to net and was moving more fluidly than she did in her Cincinnati defeat to reigning US Open champion Emma Raducanu.
Former President Bill Clinton, Martina Navratilova, Mike Tyson, Hugh Jackman, Gladys Knight, Queen Latifah, Gayle King, Spike Lee and Rebel Wilson were among the celebrities inside a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium tonight. This night session drew a record 29,402 fans according to the USTA.
Olympia Ohanian, Serena's daughter who celebrates her fifth birthday on September 1st, wore a black Nike outfit covered with sparkles that matched her famous mother's apparel. Olympia sported the white beads in her hair that recalled the hairstyle of a 17-year-old Serena, who defeated five Hall of Famers in a row, including Lindsay Davenport and Martina Hingis, to capture her maiden major at the 1999 US Open.
A jittery Serena stared down double break point in her opening game and answered with a bang cracking consecutive aces that helped her hold.
Perhaps the only one as nervous as Williams in the building was Kovinic. Williams raced up quickly to a net-cord shot, blocked back a reflex volley then walloped a swing volley breaking for 2-0.
Even at the early stages, the crowd was living and dying with each point Williams was playing Facing break point for the second service game, Williams put a forehand into net to gift back the break.
The 27-year-old Kovinic earned break points for the third straight game. Williams got the mid-court ball she sought, but yanked a backhand wide as the woman from Montenegro took her third straight game for 3-2 muting the pro-Serena crowd momentarily.
One key Serena strike helped her turn the set around.
In the sixth game, Kovinic erased a pair of break points with a 115 mph serve and crunching crosscourt forehand to level from 15-40 down. Williams smacked a backhand return that painted the intersection of both lines then exploited a couple of double faults breaking back in the sixth game.
The six-time champion surged through 11 straight points, stamping a love hold and following with a love break for 5-3.
Again Kovinic earned break point and again Williams saved it. Grand Slam doubles champion Rennae Stubbs, who is coaching Williams for this US Open, shouted out "come on, Serena strong legs!" On her first set point, Williams sprayed a diagonal forehand wide.
The game escalated to the nine-minute mark as Kovinic earned a fourth break point. Williams curled her fifth ace off the center stripe to save it.
Slamming a 115 mph ace brought Williams set point number two. This time, the former No. 1 fired a serve winner down the middle snatching a one-set lead after 55 minutes.
Williams capped the opening set on a four-game run, but Kovinic saved break points to stay in step at the start of the second set.
Ripping returns with more menacing aggression, Williams whipped a backhand return off the sideline for another break point. When Kovinic sailed a forehand, Williams had her fourth break and a 3-2 second-set lead.
As the match progressed, Williams was playing more proactive points. Scorching a serve to elicit a mid-court reply, Williams scalded a forehand winner down the line for 4-2.
The four-time Olympic gold-medal champion closed with a flourish extending her Flushing Meadows farewell at least another round.
It won't get any easier for Williams, who will face world No. 2 Anett Kontaveit in the US Open second round on Wednesday night. Kontaveit crusied through nine consecutive games crushing Jaqueline Cristian 6-3, 6-0.