Serena Williams kicked off the search for her seventh Grand Slam title this season with a crushing 6-1 6-1 victory over Russian Maria Sharapova on Monday evening. The first round of the tournament.
Serena qualified for the second round of the tournament in which she meets compatriot Catherine McNeely, who participates in the tournament with an invitation card, which qualified for the second round by defeating Swiss Timia Paczinski.
Serena, who lost the final to Naomi Osaka last year, is aiming to win the title in the current edition to be the 24th in the Grand Slam Grand Slam tournaments.
Serena and Sharapova were drawn to the draw for the first round of the tournament to be a thrilling encounter between two former Flushing Meadows champions on one hand, and a thrilling encounter between two female players who have been at the top of the rankings.
Eighth seed Serena won her 20th win in 22 appearances against Sharapova in their two career matches so far.