Serena ‘staying vague’ over retirement

Serena Williams said she is “staying vague” over her expected retirement from tennis after reaching the US Open second round on Monday.

“I have been pretty vague about it, right? I’m going to stay vague because you never know,” said the 40-year-old after beating Danka Kovinic 6-3, 6-3.

Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam title winner, said earlier this month that she was “evolving away” from tennis and that “the countdown” was on for her retirement after 27 years as a professional.

Before Monday, the former world number one had won just one match on tour all year and seen her ranking slip to 605.

That kind of form prompted her to reveal that she was on the brink of retirement and hinting that this US Open would be her farewell.

However, the guessing game over her concrete plans for the future continued Monday with mixed messages delivered on court and then in her post-match news conference.

“It was such a hard decision,” Williams told her on-court interviewer when asked about her original announcement revealed in an essay for Vogue magazine.

“I think when you are passionate about something it is always hard to walk away,” she said.

“I have been trying to decide what to do. I love this game.

She added: “I think now’s the time. I have a family and there’s other chapters in life. I call it evolution.”

“It’s like Serena 2.0. I will still be crazy, I’ll still be intense. I’ll still be around. But I look forward to waking up and not having to run onto a tennis court.”

The crowd held up cards to spell out “Serena, we love you”.

Next up for Williams is second round clash against No.2 seed Anett Kontaveit of Estonia on Wednesday.

Medvedev eases into second round

Daniil Medevedev launched the defence of his US Open crown on Monday with a straight sets victory over lowly ranked American Stefan Kozlov.

World number one Medvedev, bidding to become the first man to successfully defend the US Open since Roger Federer in 2008, eased into the second round with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 win in 2hrs 1min.

Victory was sweet for Medvedev, who revealed he had regularly struggled to beat Kozlov when the two played at junior level.

“He was almost impossible to beat,” said the Russian, citing one encounter where his opponent “destroyed me.”

“I was happy to get my revenge today,” Medvedev added.

Kozlov, ranked 111th in the world, scored an early service break in the first set to stay in touch at 2-2 in warm, muggy conditions in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Medvedev broke back immediately, however, and broke again for a 3-2 lead which soon became 5-2 with a further break in the seventh game.

The Russian held for the first set and took control of the contest in the second, breaking for a 5-4 lead and closing out on serve.

The 26-year-old scored three straight breaks to lead 5-0 in the third and then held to seal victory.

Medvedev plays France’s Arthur Rinderknech in the second round.