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US Open Postcard: Serena Williams match preparation starts early

World number one Williams faces fellow American Vania King in second round action and a victory would put her five match wins away from breaking the professional era record for grand slam titles that she now shares with Steffi Graf.

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“I dont think I had any break points against me, which is very good, ” the Scot said.

World No. 1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic reached the third round of the US Open without swinging his racket Wednesday when scheduled opponent Jiri Vesely pulled out injured.

“I knew today I needed to be focused because I’ve played her”.

The top seed showed little sign of the injury which has hampered her build-up to the tournament, the final Grand Slam of the year, to book a meeting with compatriot Vania King. “She goes deep in majors”, Williams said of the Russian left-hander who beat her in the fourth round of the 2012 Australian Open.

Gatorade has also released a desktop version of the game, and if Williams wins her record-breaking 23rd slam at this year’s US Open, the company will release add a bonus level to commemorate her achievement.

Earlier, Williams’ sister Venus got through a tougher-than-expected 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 win against Kateryna Kozlova. Despite coming up short at Wimbledon and the Olympic Games, Williams never wavered in her Flushing Meadows opener.

Men’s No. 2 Andy Murray didn’t lose a set in his opening-round match, coasting to a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory.

As usual, history beckons Williams who is bidding for a seventh US Open victory that would surpass the Open Era record she shares with Chris Evert.

There were also wins for fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska and fifth seed Simona Halep, defeating Jessica Pegula and Kirsten Flipkens respectively.

Juan Martin del Potro, the 2009 US Open champion whose career was almost ended by three wrist surgeries, advanced with a 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) victory over fellow Argentine Diego Schwartzman. “If I could cut those in half, it’s definitely a different story”.

Juan Martin del Potro, the 2009 US Open champion whose career was almost ended by three wrist surgeries, advanced with a 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) victory over fellow Argentine Diego Schwartzman.

There were various upsets around the grounds during the afternoon, including 19-year-old American Jared Donaldson’s 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-0 elimination of 12th-seeded David Goffin, and a loss by No. 29 Sam Querrey, who stunned Djokovic at Wimbledon.

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Elsewhere in the women’s competition, Canadian Eugenie Bouchard crashed out of the tournament, losing 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 to Czech Katerina Siniakova, ranked 72 in the world.

Novak Djokovic