Serena Williams says 'NO' to retirement with dominant victory at US Open

| by Sebastian Dahlman

After announcing her retirement from professional tennis after the 2022 US Open, any match Serena Williams enters at this tournament can be her last.

In the first round of the 2022 US Open, the 23-time Grand Slam champion took on world number 80, Danka Kovinic who lost already 5 matches in a row without winning a set. Serena Williams certainly wanted to extend the losing streak of her opponent and she was supported by the full Arthur Ashe Stadium.

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The experienced American started the match really well when she got a break in the second game and led 2-0 early on. However, the start of the match was very nervous from both players as they kept missing a lot of strokes. Therefore, it was Kovinic who was soon 3-2 up and was looking to extend her lead when she had an advantage.

But Serena Williams showed her greatness by winning 11 points in a row and breaking her opponent twice. After 50 minutes, she was serving to win the first set and despite facing 4 break points in the ninth game of the first set, she managed to prevail and win the first set 6-3.

In the second set, the 23-time Grand Slam champion improved in every aspect of the game. She started hitting more first serves and kept winning points after doing so. Moreover, she hit 10 winners and only 7 unforced errors.

Serena Williams was also the only player to have break points in the set and she showed that she's ready to wreak havoc at the 2022 US Open as she defeated Danka Kovinic 6-3, 6-3 in 102 minutes. In the secod round of the tournament, she will take on the second-seeded Anett Kontaveit.

During her on-court interview, the 6-time US Open champion said: "I always just gotta do the best I can. The crowd really helped me."

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