The first meeting between the Americans will not go down as a memorable one, especially for 81st-ranked King as Williams needed a mere 56 minutes to seal the victory on a sun-kissed Arthur Ashe Stadium court.
Williams, dressed in a pink leopard-print dress, had more trouble with the gusty conditions than with her opponent, committing three double faults in her opening service game.
But the 17-times grand slam champion would eventually gain enough control of her serve and groundstrokes blasting 25 winners past an overwhelmed King, who could manage just five.
Next up for the top seed in her quest for a third straight U.S. Open title and sixth overall, is American Varvara Lepchenko, who was a 6-4 6-0 winner over Germany's Mona Barthel.
(Reporting by Steve Keating; Editing by Frank Pingue)
Share
