Serena Williams gives us yet another night of greatness we can all appreciate in US Open first round win

A little first pump, a big dance, and a huge smile. It was yet another first round win at the US Open for Serena Williams, but it was far from just another first round win at the US Open for Serena Williams. Ahead of her impending retirement from the sport that she has revolutionized, Williams opened what is likely her final event ever with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Danka Kovinic.

Williams will face No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit in the second round Wednesday.

In a match of this magnitude, it was easy to make so much of every point, of every game. When Williams found herself facing two break points in the opening game, it must have been the nerves. When she clawed back to win that game and the next, the stage must have been too big for Kovinic. But then Kovinic won three straight games. Had the only player in the WTA rankings from Montenegro settled in? Were we about to embark on a rollercoaster of shaky nerves and, at times, shakier tennis?

In truth, there were no conclusions to be drawn from those early games. There never are. Instead, Williams settled in. She broke Kovinic back in a lengthy sixth game to get back on serve at 3-3, and when given an inch, she took a mile, holding serve at love to take a 4-3 lead and then breaking Kovinic at love to get a game away from a first set win.

That game didn’t come easily. Williams staved off four break points and finally came out on top with a huge serve. Williams reacted with an emphatic fist pump as the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd erupted.

It was far from a perfect set for Williams, but the grit and composure she showed in crucial moments was the difference: She saved eight of 10 break points against her and converted three of five break points against Kovinic. The ability to win while far from your best is vital, and Williams, in the biggest first-round match of her career, showed she absolutely still has it. The visceral reaction was for good…