Serena Williams vs. Vitalia Diatchenko: Score and Reaction from 2015 US Open

So much for first-match nerves.

Serena Williams didn't only win her initial U.S. Open match over Vitalia Diatchenko, but she also completely dominated on the way to a 6-0, 2-0 victory. Diatchenko retired from the match because of an Achilles injury, but she was overmatched from the opening point.

ESPNTennis shared the scene:

"

Diatchenko retires from her 1R match vs. Serena due to injury. The World No.1 advances to face Bertens. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/1XRMDPdBzG

— ESPNTennis (@ESPNTennis) September 1, 2015"

It was an important first step for the three-time defending champion at this event. Williams is the dominant storyline in Flushing, New York, because she is trying to become the first player to win the calendar-year Grand Slam since Steffi Graf did so in 1988. Williams currently holds all four major titles, but she has never accomplished the feat in the same calendar year.

She couldn't pick a better venue at which to do it, considering she counts six U.S. Open titles on her resume and enjoys playing in New York, given her comments, per Jane McManus of ESPN.com: "It's the biggest stadium for a tennis player in the world, and it's the biggest stage in the world in New York. It doesn't get any bigger or better than this."

It doesn't get much better than Williams' performance Monday, either.

The overpowering American jumped out to a commanding 5-0 lead in the first set, which was not surprising. However, the fact that it took her a whopping 12 minutes to do so turned some heads.

Erik Gudris of Tennis Now acknowledged it wasn't a fair fight, while Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times pointed out we have seen better efforts from Diatchenko:

While Williams is the best player in the world, the early going was about more than the talent gap between the two competitors. Diatchenko appeared to labor through her movements and looked far from healthy. The trainer looked at her Achilles, which had forced her to miss seven months following an operation.

She initially elected not to withdraw, which prompted this reaction from Rothenberg:

Williams won the first set 6-0 in the face of Diatchenko's struggles, and Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated compared the performance to those of another incredible athlete:

ESPN Stats & Info put the first set into perspective: 

The pattern continued into the second set, and Diatchenko eventually retired rather than delaying the inevitable. Rothenberg shared his overall opinion of what the fans had witnessed:

While it wasn't as challenging as she likely expected, the bottom line for Williams is that Monday's victory moved her closer to history.

What's Next?

The "one step at a time" cliche applies in tennis because the U.S. Open is a single-elimination tournament rather than a playoff series. Williams likely has an eye on potential showdowns with marquee, highly ranked opponents down the road, but she first must eliminate Kiki Bertens on Wednesday in her second match.

Bertens knocked off Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in a back-and-forth showdown, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Williams has never faced Bertens, per WTATennis.com, so there will be an element of unfamiliarity in the first couple of games. Still, as long as the American comes out with the same aggressiveness and razor-sharp focus we saw Monday, Bertens shouldn't be a problem. 

Williams put any potential first-match nerves in the rearview mirror against Diatchenko and can now turn her attention to playing tennis against overmatched foes.