Recommended reading: Rarely if ever can a first-round match have contained an atmosphere quite like that at Serena Williams’ win over Danka Kovinic. Tumaini Carayol captures the occasion:
If there was any doubt about the significance of Williams’ imminent departure, the spectacle that greeted her arrival on Arthur Ashe Stadium for her likely final tournament nailed it home. Mike Tyson sat next to Martina Navratilova. Gladys Knight appeared to Midnight Train to Georgia playing in the background. In Williams’ player box, her daughter, Olympia, emerged in the stands with beads in her braids, a full circle moment.
After Danka Kovinić made her way on to Arthur Ashe Stadium to relative golf claps, Williams’ entrance was preceded by a video narrated by Queen Latifah. She entered in a costume that sparkled from head to toe in diamonds, from her hair to the bedazzled cape that trailed her on to the court. Both Kanye West’s Diamonds from Sierra Leone and a deafening, prolonged roar from he crowd soundtracked her arrival.