Tracy Austin

With a sound first-round victory in straight sets Tuesday over Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko, Serena Williams showed that not only is she capable of winning her third U.S. Open singles title, but is also a legitimate threat to become the world’s top ranked women’s player again.

Williams and older sister Venus — who recorded an easy win Tuesday night in her opening-round match vs. Australia’s Samantha Stosur — are among a handful of women’s players capable of winning the wide-open singles draw and becoming No. 1 in the overall rankings. (Maria Sharapova is in New York City but not playing in Flushing Meadows due to a right shoulder injury.)

And frankly, it would be a fitting way to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Open Era if a player of Serena’s talent took back the top spot in the rankings with a title run in Flushing Meadows.

Is Serena committed to winning?

Yes. And I have not questioned Serena’s commitment to tennis throughout the 2008 season.

What’s more, Serena — who recently won Olympic gold with Venus in doubles play — has consistently stayed in good physical shape too. Although, it was unfortunate she hurt her knee in the semifinals at Stanford. And I was shocked when Serena lost to Slovenia’s Katarina Srebotnik in the third round at the French Open in May. With Justine Henin retired, I thought Williams was ready to make a serious push towards the No. 1 ranking.

Serena and Venus were often subjects for criticism because both were spending so much time away from tennis. Venus was designing clothes and Serena was in Hollywood appearing in TV shows.

As for Serena, her off-the-court endeavors (and injuries) affected her play in 2006 as she fell to as low as No. 140 (from No. 11 earlier in the season) in the rankings. But due to Serena’s obvious talent, rankings don’t really mean much, especially when you consider that she started last season at No. 81 and crushed Sharapova in the Australian Open final.

Venus looms in quarters
Now, a possible quarterfinal meeting between Venus and Serena is certainly interesting.

Although each has won eight matches against the other, Venus has the upper hand given that she captured her fifth Wimbledon title with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Serena in July. It was, in my opinion, the most competitive match to date between the two sisters.

But first, Serena must advance past unranked Russian Elena Vesnina in Thursday’s second-round play. And the world’s No. 71-ranked player should not prove a difficult challenge for Serena.

Serena is being aggressive and serving well
Again, I was thoroughly impressed by Serena’s play on Tuesday as she needed less than an hour to finish the victory, and did not give Bondarenko a chance to get into the match.

Bondarenko, on the other hand, felt pressure to do something special because Serena was doing everything so well. The Open champ in 1999 and 2002 was very patient until she got the shot she wanted and then added a little speed. She was not allowing the Ukrainian — ranked No. 46 in the world — to even breathe.

Williams served six aces, and was clocked at 113 mph. Serena’s serve technique has always been good. It’s so smooth and she has great timing. She is also one of the best returners in the game, if not the best.

During rallies with Bondarenko, Serena stayed on her front foot and moved forward, and played aggressively into her shots. When she is not sharp, Serena tends to linger around the baseline, and plays many shots by using her back foot.

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