Serena Williams delayed her farewell to tennis on an electrifying opening night at the US Open on Monday as the sporting icon battled to victory in front of a star-studded crowd.
The 23-time Grand Slam winner — who earlier this month signalled she plans to retire from tennis after the tournament — drew on all of her experience to down lowly ranked Montenegrin opponent Danka Kovinic 6-3, 6-3.
A galaxy of celebrities ranging from Hollywood stars, fashion icons and former presidents were out in force at Flushing Meadows' Arthur Ashe Stadium to watch could have been Williams final appearance in a Grand Slam singles match.
But the 40-year-old ensured that her legions of fans will have at least one more chance to savor her talents as she dug out victory despite an error-strewn display.
"I feel so comfortable on this court and in front of everyone here," a jubilant Williams said after her victory.
"The crowd was crazy - they really helped pull me through. I was really pumped," added Williams, who won the first of her Grand Slam titles in the same arena in 1999 as a 17-year-old prodigy.
Williams admitted that deciding to walk away from the sport after 27 years as a professional was "such a hard decision."
"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.
"But I was just like 'Alright, I think now's the time'. I have a family, there's other chapters in life. I call it evolution."
Williams later refused to be definitive about her retirement however when asked if the US Open would be her last tournament, teasing the possibility that she may yet play on.
"I've been pretty vague about it, right?" she said. "I'm going to stay vague because you never know."
In other women's draw action on Monday, former world number one Simona Halep, seeded seventh, was the biggest casualty in the first round, crashing out 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 to Ukrainian qualifier Daria Snigur.
But there were no such problems for US teenager and 12th seed Coco Gauff, who cruised past France's Leolia Jeanjean 6-2, 6-3.
Meanwhile the men's draw got under way with a stunning upset for Greek fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who was bundled out by Colombian qualifier Daniel Elahi Galan 6-0, 6-1, 3-6, 7-5.
revenge for daniil
Daniil Medevedev launched the defence of his US Open crown 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.
10th anniversary
Andy Murray marked the 10th anniversary of his maiden Grand Slam triumph with an impressive US Open straight sets win over Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo on Monday.
The 35-year-old Murray defeated the 24th seed 7-5, 6-3, 6-3, showing no signs of recent cramping problems which plagued his hardcourt summer.
"It felt like five sets," said Murray after his first straight sets victory at the Slams since Wimbledon in 2017.