NEW YORK: SerenaWilliams overwhelmed Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-1 on Monday to reach the secondround of the US Open in search of her 24th Grand Slam title while"rusty" Roger Federer rallied past Indian qualifier Sumit Nagal.Six-time US Open champion Williams crushed the five-time major winner fromRussia in only 59 minutes, beating Sharapova for the 19th consecutive time andimproving to 20-2 in their all-time rivalry.
"Whenever Iplay her I bring out some of my best tennis," Williams said. "Whenyou play her you have to be super focused." Williams, who next plays121st-ranked US wildcard Caty McNally, blasted five aces and 16 winners whileSharapova made 20 unforced errors. "She served really well. Found herspots really well," Sharapova said. "I think that's where she hurt mea lot."
Williams ishoping to match the all-time record of 24 Slam singles titles won by MargaretCourt. Swiss third seed Federer, who has a men's record 20 Slam titles, droppedthe opening set in 36 minutes, then returned to form and defeated Nagal 4-6,6-1, 6-2, 6-4. "I played like my beard today. I was rusty," Federersaid. The shock first set was a wake-up call, a 38-year-old legend who was 61-0in Grand Slam first rounds since the 2003 French Open trailing a 22-year-oldfrom New Delhi who is ranked 190th and fell to 0-5 in tour-level matches.
'Just in time'
"Just triedto forget it, play tough, stay with him. It was a tough first set for me,"Federer said. "He came back and played really strong. I was missing a lotof balls and trying to cut back on unforced errors. "It all came back justin time." Sharapova, the 2006 US Open winner who defeated Williams in the2004 Wimbledon final, upset Simona Halep in the first round two years ago butcould not revive that magic.
The 37-year-oldAmerican said that after learning she would face Sharapova, "everypractice after that was super focused and super intense." Eighth-seededWilliams rolled through the first set in 24 minutes then broke to open thesecond. She denied Sharapova on two break points to hold in the fifth game, animpressive backhand winner ending the threat. "That was definitely a bigpoint for me," Williams said. "You can't let her get anymomentum."
Williams brokeagain to 4-1, rescued three break points in the sixth game to hold serve andbroke again to advance, showing no sign of the back spasms that limited herpre-Open play. "The body is good," she said. "My back is a lotbetter. I'm excited. This is going to be fun."
Djokovic cruises
Top-rankeddefending champion Novak Djokovic cruised into the second round while FrenchOpen champion Ashleigh Barty and third seed Karolina Pliskova struggled butadvanced. Serbian star Djokovic, who has won four of the past five Grand Slamsingles titles, dispatched Spain's 76th-ranked Roberto Carballes Baena 6-4,6-1, 6-4. "Getting out of the blocks, it takes time for you to feelcomfortable on the court," Djokovic said. "I'm quite pleased with myperformance and looking forward to the next one."
Djokovic, tryingto become the first back-to-back US Open winner since Federer won from2004-2008, will next face Argentina's 56th-ranked Juan Ignacio Londero.Djokovic owns 16 Grand Slam titles, four off Federer's record and two back ofSpain's Rafael Nadal. Together the "Big Three" have won the past 11Slam titles and are again heavy favorites. Australian second seed Bartyovercame a horrible start to oust 80th-ranked Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan 1-6,6-3, 6-2.
Barty made 19unforced errors to drop the first set in 28 minutes, but took nine of the last11 games to book a date with American Lauren Davis. Pliskova, a 2016 US Openrunner-up, edged 138th-ranked Czech compatriot Tereza Martincova 7-6 (8/6), 7-6(7/3) after exchanging service breaks over the first six games. "Not mybest performance," Pliskova said. "Not happy that I lost three breaksof serve in a row." Russian fifth seed Daniil Medvedev, an ATP winner atCincinnati, beat India's Prajnesh Gunneswaran 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 in 85 minutes. Hefaces Bolivia's Hugo Dellien next.
"I can't sayI'm feeling amazing about my game but to win by that score in the first roundis great," Medvedev said. Japanese seventh seed Kei Nishikori, the 2014 USOpen runner-up, won 6-1, 4-1, when Argentine qualifier Marco Trungellitiretired with a back injury. "I'm happy with the way I played," saidNishikori, who gets American Bradley Klahn next. - AFP