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Serena Williams begins US Open with a convincing singles win

Williams will open doubles play along with her sister Venus on Wednesday.
Williams will face world No. 2 Anett Kontaveit of Estonia within the singles spherical of 64, additionally on Wednesday. Will probably be their first profession assembly.
After early struggles along with her serve Monday night, Williams took 10 of the ultimate 13 video games towards Kovinić, a 27-year-old from Montenegro who’s ranked eightieth on this planet.
After the match, throughout a ceremony celebrating her tennis profession, Williams stated she obtained a lift from the vocal crowd of virtually 24,000 folks. “The gang was loopy,” she stated.
Williams double-faulted twice within the first recreation however finally upped her first serve share to 66%. She received 33 of 43 first serve factors.
A key second got here within the sixth recreation of the primary set when Kovinić appeared on the verge of a 4-2 lead. However a Williams shot that appeared lengthy and vast was neither, nipping the again of the baseline and outdoors fringe of the singles sideline. It was the primary of 11 straight factors for Williams as she coasted the remainder of the best way.
It was Williams’ third match since asserting she is going to “evolve away from tennis.”
“I’ve by no means favored the phrase retirement. It does not really feel like a contemporary phrase to me. I have been pondering of this as a transition, however I wish to be delicate about how I take advantage of that phrase, which implies one thing very particular and vital to a group of individuals,” Williams stated in a Vogue article revealed earlier this month.
“Perhaps the most effective phrase to explain what I am as much as is evolution. I am right here to let you know that I am evolving away from tennis, towards different issues which might be vital to me,” she stated.
At her post-match information convention, she was requested if that is undoubtedly her final event.
“Yeah, I have been fairly obscure about it, proper?” she stated with a smile. “I will keep obscure since you by no means know.”
However earlier on the courtroom, Williams, 40, stated it was a troublesome resolution to maneuver on.
“I believe whenever you’re keen about one thing and you like one thing a lot, it is all the time arduous to stroll away,” she stated. “Typically I believe it is arduous to stroll away than to not. That is been the case for me.”
When requested by Gayle King what profitable will probably be for her sooner or later, Williams pointed to her enterprise capital firm and in addition stated she desires to work on her non secular life.
Williams’ singles win was witnessed by her husband, Alexis Ohanian, and their daughter, Olympia, with the teen sporting white beads in her hair, harking back to Williams’ look when she received the primary of her six US Open titles as an adolescent in 1999.
“I sit up for waking up and simply being like, OK, I haven’t got to run to the courtroom at the moment,” Williams stated. “I sit up for simply being a mother. She’s such woman. I simply wish to be mother to her.”
Additionally on Monday, Daria Snigur of Ukraine, who received qualifying matches to get into the event, upset No. 7 seed Simona Halep of Romania in three units 6-2, 0-6, 6-4.
“This match for Ukraine, for my household, for all followers who supported me. I wish to say thanks all,” an emotional Snigur stated.
It was Snigur’s first-ever Grand Slam match at this degree. She received the Wimbledon women’ singles title in 2019.
CNN’s Jill Martin contributed to this report.