Serena Williams breaks US Open match wins record

Serena Williams, American tennis player, broke Chris Evert‘s US Open match wins record with her 102nd career victory at the Grand Slam after beating Kristie Ahn, countrywoman, 7-5 6-3 in the first round on Tuesday.

Williams, seeking her record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title, needed a late rally in both sets to take a straight sets win at Flushing Meadows, New York.

The 38-year-old trailed in both sets by a break point but recovered in her usual brilliance, taking four straight points including two break points to close out the match in an hour and a half against Ahn, the world number 96 tennis player.

A record sealed with a serve.@serenawilliams wins her 102nd US Open match to advance to Round 2! pic.twitter.com/JkZWuyMNhN

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— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 1, 2020

Williams, who also recorded her 352nd match win in the Grand Slam tournament, expressed her excitement at the hard-fought victory in an on-court interview.

“I  was really happy with how I fought for every point, no matter how I was playing. I just had to get my Serena focus back so that was what I was working on today,” she said.

Another milestone for the 🐐

Serena Williams passes Chris Evert for most singles wins in US Open history (102) pic.twitter.com/GwtQlKb9Ub

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 1, 2020

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It was, however, the end of the road for Venus Williams, Serena’s elder sister, who lost at the first round of the US Open for the first time in her career to Karolina Muchova, Czech 20th seed.