Serena Williams: defeated Danka Kovini 6-3, 6-3 to start singles play

In the first round of the US Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Serena Williams defeated Danka Kovini

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6-3, 6-3 to start singles play in what is most certainly the final tennis competition of her illustrious

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career. On Wednesday, Venus and Williams will debut in doubles. On Wednesday, Williams will play

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Estonia's Anett Kontaveit, the world's No. 2, in the 64-player singles round. It will be their first

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professional encounter. After initially having issues with her serve on Monday night, Williams defeated

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Kovini, a 27-year-old Montenegrin who is ranked 80th in the world, by winning 10 of the final 13 games.

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At a ceremony honouring her tennis career after the match, Williams claimed that the enthusiastic

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crowd of around 24,000 spectators gave her a boost. She described the gathering as "wild." Despite

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twice double-faulting in the opening game, Williams finally increased her first serve percentage

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to 66%. 33 of 43 first serve points went her way. The opening set's sixth game, in which Kovini appeared

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to be heading toward a 4-2 advantage, was a turning point. Williams, however, managed to nip the

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outside edge of the singles sideline and the back of the baseline with a ball that appeared long

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and wide but was neither. Williams scored her first in a string of 11 straight points before coasting the rest of the way.

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