Serena Williams launches bid for 24th Slam with straight-sets US Open win

AFP | Six-time winner Serena Williams got off to a winning start yesterday at a US Open like no other, being played without spectators and with stringent measures to prevent novel Coronavirus infections.

Williams powered past 96th-ranked Kristie Ahn 7-5, 6-3 as she launched her protracted pursuit of a record-equalling 24th singles Grand Slam title on day two at Flushing Meadows.

Williams needs 1 more to equal Margaret Court’s record and her chances should be improved by the absence of several top players because of novel Coronavirus concerns or injury.

World number one Ashleigh Barty, the second-ranked Simona Halep and Canadian Bianca Andreescu — who stunned Williams in last year’s final – are all absent from the behind-closed-doors tournament.

In early matches, 10th-seed Garbine Muguruza, the 2016 French Open champion and 2017 Wimbledon winner, advanced to round two with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Japan’s Nao Havino.

Also in the women’s draw, ninth-seed Johanna Konta beat compatriot Heather Watson 7-6 (9/7), 6-1 in a tie dubbed the “Battle of Britain”. And 16th seed Elise Mertens of Belgium cruised into the second round with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Germany’s Laura Siegemund.

US hope Amanda Anisimova, seeded 22nd, also made sure of her place in the second round with a hard-fought win over Bulgaria’s Viktoriya Tomova. And American Sofia Kenin needed just over an hour to score a 6-2, 6-2 win over unseeded Belgian Yanina Wickmayer at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

In the men’s competition, number 2 seed Dominic Thiem progressed to round 2 when opponent Jaume Munar retired after the second set at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Thiem now faces India’s Sumit Nagal, who became the first Indian man since 2013 to reach the second round of a Grand Slam event with a 6-1, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 win over Bradley Klahn of the United States.

The US Open is taking place in a spectator-free bubble at the US National Tennis Center in New York.