Serena Williams embraces the US Open spotlight once more, in a tense but drama-free win over Danka Kovinic

NEW YORK—Arthur Ashe Stadium was built for nights like this.

So, it turns out, is Serena Williams.

While no one should compare the feeling of cocktail-sipping courtside with neck-craning in the nosebleeds, there is one thing every single patron inside this gargantuan arena experienced identically on Monday night: the noise. When Serena Williams walked onto the court for perhaps the final time as a singles competitor, the noise was deafening, befitting a long-awaited match point or a US Open final—events distant, in short and long terms, from pre-match pomp and circumstance in the opening round.

But again, this was Serena Williams entering the arena, and while she has consistently proven herself to be built for occasions of galaxy-level magnitudes, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion had never faced a moment like this: the possible end. Neither had her fans.

So that noise—noise that you could feel—represented the nervous energy that everyone, from the little girl watching Serena for the first time in the upper reaches, to Williams playing solo for what may be the last time, was experiencing.

That included her challenger, Danka Kovinic, which John McEnroe pointed out on ESPN’s broadcast of the world’s must-see sporting event: “We found the one person more wound up than Serena—that’s her opponent.”

The first set was like the energy: frenetic. There were surges from both players, error-filled stretched from both players, break points lost and saved from both players (Kovinic converted 2 of 10; Serena converted 3 of 5). But one shot cut through all the nerves, just as it has so many times before: Serena’s serve. In the opening game of the match, she hit two aces to help save break points and navigate herself to a hold; in the last game of the first set—the fourth in a row she'd win—she hit two aces to help save break points and navigate herself to a hold.

For all the noise those aces generated—Serena struck six in the first set, along with five double faults—they were ironically calming weapons.

Williams never found the gear that took her to six US Open titles, but she didn’t need to against Kovinic, who made Serena pay for her mistakes but never forced play enough to warrant a serious threat. What she did do was put a ghastly performance in Cincinnati (her 6-4, 6-0 loss to Emma Raducanu) behind her, and eliminate the fear of her final US Open being nothing more than a celebratory appearance.

"The crowd was crazy!" Williams told Gayle King in an extended, post-match celebration of Serena. "You really helped pull me though."

And in her 6-3, 6-3 win, Williams showed just enough of her signature smooth power and underrated court coverage that inspires much more confidence in her next match, against second-seeded Anett Kontaveit, than many had not long ago.

For a game-by-game recap of this match, read our blog, written as they happened. We will have more on this match later in the evening.