US Open tennis: Serena Williams beats Maria Sharapova in straight sets

Serena Williams has started her quest for a 24th Grand Slam singles crown in style.

Serena Williams hits a forehand against Maria Sharapova. Picture: AP

Serena Williams began her quest for a 24th Grand Slam singles crown by crushing five-time major winner Maria Sharapova 6-1 6-1 to reach the second round of the US Open.

Williams dominated from the start in improving to 20-2 all-time against the Russian with her 19th consecutive win over Sharapova in the showcase match at Arthur Ashe Stadium on the first night of the year’s final Grand Slam tennis tournament.

Williams, the No. 8 seed, took control by winning the final five games of a 24-minute opening set, then the first two of the second set.

She took away Sharapova’s only real chance to make it close by fighting off a couple of break points while serving with a 2-1 lead.

Sharapova hasn’t beaten Williams since a pair of victories in 2004, including at Wimbledon.

Williams said that once she learned she would face Sharapova in her first match, “every practice after that was super focused and super intense.

“She’s such a good player. When you play her you have to be super focused. Whenever I play her I bring out some of my best tennis.”

Joining Serena in the next round is 39-year-old older sister Venus, who beat Saisai Zheng 6-1 6-0 to remain undefeated in first-round matches in a record-tying 21st appearance at her home grand slam.

The 2000 and 2001 winner Williams will next meet fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina, after the lopsided affair on Monday in which she fired 25 winners to Zheng’s six.

Meanwhile former US Open champion Angelique Kerber crashed out, losing 7-5 0-6 6-4 to Kristina Mladenovic.

The 14th-seed Kerber lost in two hours and 24 minutes on the Grandstand court in New York as she fought back in vain from 2-0 down in the last set, drawing back to 3-3.

But her 54th-ranked French opponent wrapped up matters with two winners.

Three-time grand slam champion and former world No.1 Kerber is having a poor year and the German is also currently without a coach.

She reached the last 16 at the Australian Open in January but then crashed out in the first round at the French Open and second round at Wimbledon. The latest disaster came in the wake of first-round defeats in Toronto and Cincinnati.

German women’s tennis head Barbara Rittner and national icon Boris Becker agreed on Eurosport that coming to New York without a coach after parting ways with Rainer Schuettler after Wimbledon was a massive mistake.

“She wouldn’t have lost the match with a coach,” Rittner insisted. And Becker said: “I cannot understand that she played here without a coach. All top 10 players have a coach at their side.”

Kerber would have none of it though.

“I won’t be pressured by anyone. They key to defeat was not that I have no coach,” she insisted, also saying “I don’t know yet” when asked whether she will get a new coach.

Another to tumble was No.27 seed Caroline Garcia, who bowed out with a 7-6 (10-8) 6-2 loss to Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur.

Women’s third seed and former finalist Karolina Pliskova dropped her first three service games and blew a double break 3-0 lead in the second before prevailing 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-3) in a tight first-round duel against 138th-ranked fellow Czech Tereza Martincova.

Eugenie Bouchard, a former Wimbledon finalist and top-10 player, lost her 11th straight tour match to last year’s semi-finalist Anastasija Sevastova 6-3 6-3.

AP