Serena Williams staved off a break point early to eventually beat Margarita Gasparyan 6-2, 6-4 under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday night.
Wearing crowns on her trainers, Williams had 27 winners and seven aces to put away the Russian in 93 minutes.
“I’m just happy to get through it so I can focus on the next round,” Williams said.
“I love the crowd here, obviously, but I’ve been playing so long that I’m into the modern era where it’s all digital! There is something kind of calming about it, though.”
Up 5-1 in the first set, Gasparyan broke back before he American showed her experience in the eighth game to claim first blood.
The second set was more competitive, with an exchange of breaks lasting ten minutes before Serena broke through to win.
Williams, wo will meet Sloane Stephens in the next round, improved her career record to 20-0 in the second round at Flushing Meadows.
“Sloane is such a good player, she plays so smooth. She looks like she is not taking a lot of energy and then suddenly bam! Five winners,” Williams said.
