By Laura Amato
She’s still the favorite for a reason.
Serena Williams silenced everyone who was questioning her following a recent string of on-court miscues, cruising to a first-round victory at the US Open Tuesday night, taking down Ekaterina Makarova 6-3, 6-3 at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Any lingering worry regarding the world No. 1’s lingering shoulder injury was swept aside as Williams showcased a dominant serve that kept Makarova on her toes and off her game.
A Grand Slam title is hardly guaranteed after just one match, but Williams made a much-needed statement with her straight-set win.
“I feel okay,” Williams said after the match. “I mean, I didn’t play as many matches as I would have liked to play, much on the hard court. There’s nothing I can really do about it. I just have to get everything ready for here.”
Williams had a bit of an edge coming into the match, since she was familiar with Makarova’s style of play already. The two faced off in the semifinals of the 2014 US Open, a match which Williams also won in straight sets.
Makarova beat Williams at the Australian Open in 2012, but this latest faceoff was lopsided from the get-go, lasting just over an hour.
“I knew today I needed to be focused because I’ve played her,” Williams said. “She’s gotten to the semifinals. She goes deep in majors. She knows how to play big matches on big courts. She’s not intimidated. I knew I had to really come out today. It was my only option really.”
Williams consistently hit triple digits on her serve and racked up 12 aces. Despite coming up short at Wimbledon and the Olympic Games, Williams never wavered in her Flushing Meadows opener. It was a welcome change of pace for the star, who has struggled to get back to form over the last few weeks.
“I was pleased with my serve because I haven’t been hitting a lot of serves at all,” she said. “In practice, none of them were going in, so I was definitely excited about that.”
Williams wasn’t the only star to cruise into the second round.
Olympic gold medalist and second-overall seed Andy Murray notched his own straight-set win, defeating Lukas Rosol in the final match of the day. Murray breezed to the win without much opposition and did not have to defend a single break point, while recording just 17 unforced errors.
Meanwhile, Juan Martin Del Potro—who Murray defeated in Rio—kept up his string of summertime success with a 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (3) victory over Diego Schwartzman at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
“Well, to be honest, I’m still feeling tired, for sure,” Del Potro said of his post-Olympic recovery. “It’s not easy after a big, big challenge like I did in Rio. But this tournament is very special for me. I’m trying to keep calm, to keep focused, and look forward to going far.”
While the big names advanced on Tuesday, there was a first-round upset on Day 2 of the competition. Former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic fell in the first round for the second straight year with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 loss to Denisa Allertova of the Czech Republic.
