Serena Takes First Step Toward Grand Slam With Rout of Injured Russian

NEW YORK — One down, six to go.

Serena Williams needed only half an hour Monday night to take the first step toward winning the Grand Slam when Russian Vitalia Diatchenko retired down 6-2, 2-0, in front of a packed crowd inside Arthur Ashe Stadium at the U.S. Open.

Diatchenko was bothered by an foot injury and seemed overwhelmed from the start. She trailed 5-0 after 12 minutes and after calling for the trainer a second time, she threw in the towel and shook Serena’s hand.

Total points won: Serena 32, Diatchenko 5.

“I told her I was proud of her for even coming out and making this effort for being injured even before she got out here,” Serena said on court. “It was a great effort and hopefully we’ll be able to play again soon.”

Williams, who needs six more wins in this fortnight to accomplish what was last done by Steffi Graf in 1988, will next face qualifier Kiki Berlens.

“If I can just stay relaxed and stay in the points and stay calm, I have to look at it as I have nothing to lose,” Serena said. “That’s how I entered this tournament.”

With No. 7 Ana Ivanovic and No. 29 Sloane Stephens (both in Serena’s quarter) getting upset on Monday and Maria Sharapova already out of the tournament after withdrawing Sunday, Serena’s path to her seventh US Open title appeared to open up even more.

“She’s going to have to play less than up to her her ability which she may a couple of matches because the pressure is great obviously,” four-time US Open champ John McEnroe said earlier Monday on ESPN.

“But I think that when push comes to shove the distance between her and the rest of the field is pretty significant right now.”

Williams, the three-time defending Open champ and winner of 21 career majors, took the court Monday after much pomp and circumstance that included a performance by Josh Groban. 

Alec Baldwin, Martha Stewart and Amanda Seyfried were among those in attendance for Serena’s opening night act.

Earlier Monday, Venus Williams had a much tougher time in her match, dispatching Monica Puig, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 in 2 hours, 40 minutes.

Afterward, much of her press conference focused on her younger sister and the question of when Venus first knew little sis would be great. The two were taught tennis on public hardcourts in the inner city of Compton, Calif., by their father, Richard.

“She always did well,” Venus said. “She did well in her first tournament. She beat three top-10 players in a row and then lost only because she twisted her ankle. There’s no doubt she took off like a rocket.”

Now the two sisters could meet in the quarterfinals but Serena will continue to dominate the headlines.

“She deserves every single thing that she has,” Venus said. “At the same time, she’s not focused on the attention, she’s focused on her tennis. So she’s focused on the important things, and the results show.”

Serena’s results of late have been dominant.

She owns the second Serena Slam of her career — holding all four Major titles at once — and has won eight Grand Slam titles after the age of 30. That is the same number Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl won in their careers.

“She’s physicallly so great still at almost 34 but mentally I think she’s better than she’s ever been,” McEnroe said. “So that combination along with her becoming a better competitor, she competes harder more often.”

With one match down and six to go, the question is how much Serena will feel the pressure as the tournament progresses and the stakes rise.

“I’ve been saying for three, four years she’s the best female player I’ve ever seen in my life and I think there’s no question about that,” McEnroe said.

“Now it’s about chasing record books and history.”