US Open 2022 LIVE: Serena Williams wins Round 1 on very EMOTIONAL NIGHT, sets up date with 2nd SEED Anett Kontaveit on Wednesday: Follow LIVE UPDATES

US Open 2022 LIVE – Serena Williams vs Anett Kontaveit in ROUND 2: Serena Williams signaled she is not quite ready for retirement advancing to the second round of the U.S. Open on Monday. She registered 6-3 6-3 win over Danka Kovinic. But the path to a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam is now very treacherous. Serena takes on 2nd SEED Anett Kontaveit of Estonia in ROUND 2 on Wednesday: Follow US Open 2022 Results & Serena vs Kontaveit LIVE Updates with InsideSport.IN

 

That winning feeling. #Serena pic.twitter.com/xJ4YUdi1Fj

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 30, 2022

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Williams indicated her intention to retire in a Vogue article in early August, saying she was “evolving away from tennis” but never confirming the U.S. Open as her final event. For tennis fans, however, the message was clear, the U.S. Open would be where she would take her final bow.

Could there be an encore?

The former world number one has played coy even refusing to rule out next year’s Australia Open. But in a strange post-match ceremony celebrating her career, which was not yet finished, Williams gave the clearest sign yet that the U.S. Open will indeed be her last tournament.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 29: Serena Williams of the United States is interviewed after her match against Danka Kovinic of Montenegro during the Women’s Singles First Round on Day One of the 2022 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 29, 2022 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

“It’s been such a hard decision,” Williams, told the crowd. “I think when you’re passionate about something and you love something so much it’s always hard to walk away.

“There’s other chapters in life. I really wanted to spend more time at home and working on my spiritual life and that was really important to me.

“It’s like Serena 2.0.”

A montage of Williams career played before she stepped onto the court that left the door open for a return someday, “if you ever decide to return Queen your throne will be waiting” ended the video. A defiant Williams, however, made it clear she was not giving up that throne just yet.

Now that is an entrance, @serenawilliams.#USOpen pic.twitter.com/vpdNSWcTes

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 29, 2022

There is always excitement on opening night at Flushing Meadows but on Monday the seething stadium crackled with special energy from the moment Williams appeared on court decked out in a shimmering black robe and specially designed diamond-encrusted shoes.

The outfit may have sparkled more than the 40-year-old American’s play but it mattered not to a jam-packed Arthur Ashe Stadium as Williams’ fighting edge remained razor sharp even if her serve and groundstrokes were not.

“It’s so important to give your all,” Williams told the adoring crowd. “I’ve been down and out so many times, in the public eye.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 29: Serena Williams of the United States is interviewed after her match against Danka Kovinic of Montenegro during the Women’s Singles First Round on Day One of the 2022 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 29, 2022 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

“I just want people to be inspired by my story.

“I’m from Compton, California… and I made it.”

Certainly, there was no more fitting place to bring the curtain down on one of tennis’s most phenomenal careers than in a city that has been in her corner from the very beginning, fuelling runs to six U.S. Open crowns. The magnitude of the moment was not lost on the 23,000 fans, including, former U.S. president Bill Clinton, designer Vera Wang, director Spike Lee and others who packed into Arthur Ashe not expecting to see greatness but to celebrate it.

Having been world number one for 319 weeks, Williams arrived in New York ranked below 600 and unseeded. Even with Williams far from her best the odds were stacked against the 27-year-old from Montenegro. Playing in her 21st U.S. Open, Williams has never lost in the first round and her victory over Kovinic was her 106th at Flushing Meadows.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 29: (L-R) Serena Williams of the United States shakes hand with Danka Kovinic of Montenegro after her win during the Women’s Singles First Round on Day One of the 2022 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 29, 2022 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

While Kovinic has been enjoying the best Grand Slam season of her career reaching the third round of both the Australian and French Open, she had not won a single match since Roland Garros.

As play got underway it was Williams showing signs of nerves, piling up the double faults as Kovinic got in front 3-2. But Williams, as she has done so many times, lifted her game when she needed to, sweeping the next four games to snatch the first set.

Now in charge, Williams would not let it slip away in the second set, breaking to go up 3-2, and with match point and the crowd on its feet, she danced in delight as Kovinic’s return hit the net.

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