She booked a meeting with Sweden’s Johanna Larsson for a place in the last 16.
Advertisement
Pro – Williams turned pro in 1995, when she was 14. “What really matters is I got the win”.
“I just felt like I had to dial it back a little bit, maybe play a little bit more percentage tennis, play within myself, keep my errors down”, Williams explained after the match. “But, you know, there’s nothing I can do about that now”. She said she remembers learning a great deal about dance from Beyonce’s team of choreographers when she filmed “Sorry”, which appears on the pop star’s visual album, “Lemonade”.
The ad uses the just a few of those onscreen words to condense Williams’ many accomplishments into an easily digestible narrative (even if it’s cryptic at first).
“It was a long time ago”, she said.
The 34-year-old is seeking her 23rd career major title, which would set a new Open era record.
Williams made a strong start, quickly racing to a 3-0 lead before world No 87 King’s nerves settled as she tried to fight back.
“The crowd cheered at one moment and I looked up and it was Beyonce and Jay Z, and I’m like, ‘…”
“I prefer the word ‘one of the greatest athletes of all time, ‘” she replied, earning praise from fans and admirers.
King noticed Williams’ negative body language as she headed to the net.
The sixth-seeded Williams, 36, relied on her big serve throughout the match, posting a 6-2 6-3 victory under the roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium. “… I always say Serena”.
“There’s nothing like playing in NY”, said Williams, who first played on Ashe in 1997 – the year it was unveiled. “It’s like I want to show them I’m good at my job too – minus today”.
Losing her sweet tooth, she added, is not a problem.
Advertisement
Spanish 11th seed Carla Suarez-Navarro beat Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic 6-1, 6-4, Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (17) defeated France’s Kristina Mladenovic 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), and Elena Vesnina of Russian Federation (19) defeated Germany’s Annika Beck 6-2, 6-1. “As an athlete, as a tennis player, that’s what you want”. “It’s something that never happened before”.
