Before this long-awaited moment, the world No.1 and defending champion Daniil Medvedev made his entry with a clear victory against the American Stefan Kozlov (111th) 6-2, 6-4, 6-0.
“In juniors he was unplayable. I’m two years older than him, a normally insurmountable age difference in juniors, but he crushed me. I’m glad I got my revenge,” commented Medvedev .
For Serena, it is on the emblematic Arthur Ashe court, which promises to be full to the brim with 23,800 spectators expected, that the meeting has been set for 7:00 p.m. local (11:00 p.m. GMT, Tuesday 1:00 a.m. French). Where it all started for her, since she won the first of her 23 Grand Slams there in 1999, at only 17 years old.
Whatever the outcome of this match, the 40-year-old American (she will celebrate her 41st birthday on September 26) will not yet leave the courts of Flushing Meadows for good. Benefiting from an invitation, she will also play in the doubles tournament, again as a symbol of reviving a habit lost for four years, alongside her older sister Venus (42), who she has not yet announced an upcoming retirement.
The Williams sisters, who have won 14 Grand Slam titles together, including the US Open twice, will play on Wednesday or Thursday.
But for Serena, who is considered the greatest player of all time, even though she remains one length away from the all-time Majors record held by Australia’s Margaret Court, it is the singles that prevails.
Also, the confrontation with Kovinic, 80th in the world, will already be for her a match for survival.
“I hope she will have fun,” commented the four-time winner of the tournament John McEnroe, now a consultant for Eurosport, with one certainty about his compatriot: “Serena does not come to lose in the first round” .
However, she was beaten as soon as she entered the competition in June at Wimbledon by the 115th world, the French Harmony Tan, for her return to singles after a year of absence, due to a leg injury. Then, the former world No.1 today fell to 413th place, only spent one round in Toronto, then lost entry to Cincinnati.
– ‘Don’t underestimate her’ –
So Kovinic has everything from the trap, she who reached the third round at Roland-Garros in May where she only yielded against the unplayable world No.1 Iga Swiatek, and at the Australian Open in January where she had notably beaten the Briton Emma Raducanu all crowned with her surprise triumph in New York a few months earlier.
Another element to take into account, the devastating Serena Williams still inspires respect but no longer scares her opponents as much as she impressed so much in her prime.
On the other hand, she will be able to count on the support of the boiling New York public, in the biggest and noisiest tennis arena in the world. Its fans, some of whom have spent lavishly (between 270 and 4,500 dollars in stands, almost 98,000 in boxes) to experience history before their eyes, will be all the more behind it as each match can now be the last.
If she manages to overcome the Kovinic obstacle, the next one could be much higher still, since she could face the Estonian world No.2 Anett Kontaveit.
But even in the twilight of her career, even though tennis occupies an increasingly minor place in her life as a mother and a businesswoman, Serena Williams remains Serena, the player having grown up in the violent ghetto of Compton, near Los Angeles, and whose abnegation and rage to win have never been denied.
So “don’t underestimate her,” warns her compatriot Chris Evert, a six-time US Open winner like Williams, who admits, however, that “it will be difficult for her to reach the second week”.
