Serena Williams isn’t quite prepared to go just yet. Williams overcame a poor start to defeat Danka Kovinic 6-3, 6-3 on Monday night in a full Arthur Ashe Stadium with a mood more similar to a carnival than a goodbye. This match will likely be Williams’ last U.S. Open and competition.
Williams wasn’t at her best early on. There were two mistakes. Other chances and missed shots. She immediately fell down 3-2 after taking the lead 2-0. Williams then started to seem much more like a player with six victories at Flushing Meadows and a total of 23 Grand Slam titles.
At the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 29, 2022, Serena Williams of the United States reacts after beating Danka Kovinic of Montenegro in the first set. Getty Pictures
She breezed through the last game of the first set, finishing it with a service winner to which she gave her customary “Come on!” clinched fist reaction. The crowd of around 23,000 stood up in a boisterous standing ovation. There would be more as Williams played Montengero native Kovinic, 27, with the same outstanding level she had shown in the first set.
Williams will keep playing and take against Estonia’s Anett Kontveit, the No. 2 seed, on Wednesday.