Sport
U.S. Open 2013: Serena and Venus Williams proceed to 2nd round
Serena Williams in action against Francesca Schiavone, August 26, 2013. PHOTO/Getty Images
Defending champion Serena Williams cruised into the second round of the US Open with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Italy’s Francesca Schiavone at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
World number one Williams, seeking her 17th Grand Slam title and fifth US Open crown, needed only 60 minutes to win for the sixth time in eight matches against the 2010 French Open champion.
“I’m really excited,” Williams said. “I knew playing a former Grand Slam champion the first round was a tough draw so I just tried to be super serious.”
Williams, who finished off the match only moments before rain showers began to fall that would halt play for the rest of the night, next faces Kazakhstan’s Galina Voskoboeva. who ousted Romanian Monica Niculescu 6-4, 6-3.
Williams, who at 31 would become the oldest women’s champion in US Open history if she takes the title, improved to 61-4 on the year as she chases a ninth crown in 2013, which would be a record one-season trophy haul for the US sensation.
But she said that she knows even her epic form cannot avoid Father Time forever. “In this sport you never know what can happen,” Williams said. “That’s why you have to enjoy every moment, enjoy every win.”
Williams took the first set in just 23 minutes, allowing only six points against her, and surrendered only the fifth game in the second set when Schiavone held serve.
Meanwhile older sister Venus Williams, nagged by lower-back woes and with only one win since early April, ousted 12th seed Kirsten Flipkens on Monday to reach the second round of the US Open.
