Month of September , 2009

There was a moment, albeit a very brief one, when Serena Williams appeared vulnerable. Her once-commanding lead in the first set was down to a game, and Alexa Glatch had momentary hope.

But come on. Let’s be serious. It’s the first round of a major, and Williams doesn’t lose in those. Ever.

Williams held serve at love to take the first set, and went on to defeat her fellow American, 6-4, 6-1.

 It was like old times at Arthur Ashe Stadium as U.S. Open fans gave Andre Agassi a rousing ovation as the former champion was honoured before Monday's opening night programme at Flushing Meadows.

Eight-times grand slam champion Agassi, the U.S. Open winner in 1994 and 1999, was one of four athletes saluted on centre court as part of a celebration of the community work done by them.

Andy Roddick closed Monday's opening night at the U.S. Open before a sparse crowd of "crazies" at Arthur Ashe Stadium after taking the stage at about 11:15 p.m.

He said it was all part of the show.

"It's just unique," the fifth-seeded American told reporters after his 6-1 6-4 6-2 demolition of Bjorn Phau of Germany.

"You play in all sorts of atmospheres. You know, there's not as many people, but the ones that are there sure are vocal/drunk."

After missing last year’s US Open due to injury, past champion Lleyton Hewitt made a resounding return Monday, opening with a 6-0, 6-3, 6-4 win over Brazilian Thiago Alves to earn his 40th match win at Flushing Meadows.

Hewitt limited his opponent to eight points total in the opening set, and broke Alves twice in each of the following sets to close out the match in one hour and 50 minutes.

World No. 1 Roger Federer became the first player in history to surpass $50 million in career prize money after defeating American rookie Devin Britton 6-1, 6-3, 7-5 Monday at the US Open. The Swiss earned $31,000 for the first-round win, adding to his $49,977,919 total prize money coming into Flushing Meadows.

It was as though she had never been away. Four years after her last appearance at Flushing Meadows, Kim Clijsters strode back into Arthur Ashe Stadium yesterday and powered to a thumping 6-1, 6-1 first-round victory over Viktoriya Kutuzova on the opening day of the US Open.

Tennis stars' influence and interest in fashion has been steadily growing, leaving the chance for Maria Sharapova and James Blake to do a little moonlighting.

Third time wasn’t the charm for Edina Gallovits. Three US Opens...three first round exits.

Gallovits brought her fighting spirit to the second set of her match against the newly-ranked No. 10 Flavia Pennetta, but it wasn’t enough to stave off the Italian as she begins the US Open following what may be the most successful summer of her career.

Venus Williams entered her first round match Monday having lost three of her final four matches in the Olympus US Open Series.

Leave it to the New York City vibe to vault Venus back into the winner’s circle.

The two-time US Open champion struggled on serve before rallying for a 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-3 first round victory over Russian Vera Dushevina. She has reached at least the fourth round in each of her 10 previous appearances in Flushing.

It is unlikely that Serena Williams has ever been described as bashful.

When the 11-times grand slam champion was asked to take a look back at her US Open career on Monday, she said her younger self would find the 2009 version of Serena as "super cool".

The world number two opened the defence of her title at Flushing Meadows with an easy 6-4 6-1 victory over another American, Alexa Glatch, on Monday and then quickly turned her thoughts to her memoir "On the line".

THE MODERATOR: Roger today became the first player to win $50 million in prize money, just to let you know.
ROGER FEDERER: No need to write about that. (Laughter.)

Monday, August 31, 2009 THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. Will you tell us a little bit about how you're feeling right now and whether you've progressed all since Montreal in terms of your condition?
RAFAEL NADAL: I feel well, no? I happy to be here. I play really well the first two tournaments after stop. Very happy to come back to the tour, and very happy how I did in the first two tournaments.

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) will hold an auction in September featuring over 500 items belonging to a number of tennis stars including Russia's Maria Sharapova.

"USTA Serves is partnering with Guernsey's Auction House to host "The Vintage Tennis Auction at the 2009 US Open." The auction will be held on Sept. 11 and Sept. 13 and will feature over 500 authentic items, featuring everything from John McEnroe's shoes to an outfit worn by Maria Sharapova,", the USTA Serves Foundation, the association's philanthropic branch, said in a statement.

A decade after winning the US Open as a teenager, Serena Williams is looking to recreate the approach that brought the first of 11 grand slam titles.

Defending champion Williams began her quest for a fourth US Open crown by cruising to victory over fellow American Alexa Glatch on Monday. Second seed Williams, who has won the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year, took 62 minutes to complete a straightforward 6-4 6-1 win over the wild card entry at Arthur Ashe Stadium to ease into the second round.

The favorites stepped out on Day 1 of the US Open and with just one exception they all cruised through their first round tests.

Serena Williams, a three-time champion here and the No.2 seed this year, had some tricky times with a tricky opponent in the first set but was in total control once she tucked that set away, beating young American countrywoman Alexa Glatch, a wildcard into this year's US Open draw, 64 61.

At times throughout her career, Serena Williams has looked distracted, uninterested, aloof - or even out of shape - on the tennis court.

This is not one of those times.

Williams entered the U.S. Open as the prohibitive favorite, looking focused and confident in her pursuit of a third major title of the year to add to earlier victories at Wimbledon and the Australian Open.

Day 2: Tuesday, 1 September 2009

Most tennis fans know that Roger Federer hasn’t lost at the US Open since 2003. That kind of streak gets you the No. 1 ranking in the world and the top seed in the tournament.

For Kim Clijsters, its also been six years without defeat… though few realize it.

Clijsters took to Arthur Ashe Stadium in singles competition for the first time since she defeated Mary Pierce in the 2005 women’s final, making quick work of Viktoriya Kutuzova, 6-1 6-1.

The USTA bills its US Open Series as the Greatest Road Trip in Sports and Serena Williams' path to the US Open has been a multi-media expressway taking her  in recent weeks.

Her memoir, On The Line, hits bookstores on Tuesday. She's pitched her jewelry line on the Home Shopping Network, threw out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium and has become an investor in the Miami Dolphins. But the reigning US Open champion returned to her stomping grounds in Arthur Ashe Stadium today and wasted little time strong-arming her way into the second round.

S. WILLIAMS/A. Glatch

6 4, 6 1

An interview with: Serena Williams

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. It's been 10 years since you first came here. Is there an appreciation that you have for this tournament that you gained over the years?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Ten years ago I definitely wasn't a favorite. I felt like so like I had nothing to lose, and that's kind of how I like that attitude. When you play with that attitude, then you can go a really far way. That's kind of how I would like to even approach it this year.