Serena had suffered a number of surprise defeats in the build-up to the tournament and was tested against the 96th ranked Ahn, coming back from an early break in each set to win her 102nd game at the US Open, 7-5 6-4.In the process, the 38-year-old surpassed Chris Evert as the all-time leader in matches won at the US Open.”I don’t think I appreciate it enough, which is unfortunate,” Serena told reporters when asked about her record-breaking achievement.
“But I’m in the middle of a grand slam, so it’s not the time to be focused […] on records when I’m thinking about winning a tournament.”
Record major
The real prize for the 23-time grand slam champion remains winning another major which will see her tie with Margaret Court for the all-time record.However, her home fans will not be present as Serena chases that 24th grand slam with games being played behind closed doors amid the pandemic.”I think the hardest [thing] is making sure you stay pumped,” she told reporters after the game. “For me it was clearly easy because I’m always overly passionate. I love being passionate. It’s what I’m best at.”
Venus suffers rare defeat
Whilst Serena basked in yet more success, Venus fell to defeat.The 40-year-old had never lost an opening match at the US Open before, having won her previous 21 first round ties.However, world No. 20 Muchova proved too strong for the two-time US Open champion with the match ending 6-3 7-5 in favor of the Czech.
Despite the defeat, Venus remained positive about the sport she started playing professionally at just 14.”I love this game,” she told reporters. “I’m good at what I do.”
“It’s easy to stay motivated and excited about doing something so amazing. Not many people get to do this.”.Serena will now face Russia’s Margarita Gasparyan in the second round on Thursday.
