Wednesday 2 September 2015 07:58, UK
Defending champion Serena Williams strolled into the second round of the US Open after Vitalia Diatchenko waved the white flag and retired from their first-round match.
The world No 1 had built up a commanding 6-0 2-0 lead when the Russian decided to pull out due to an ankle injury in New York.
Williams dominated her struggling opponent, winning 32 of the 37 points they played during her brief 27-minute workout, and will next face Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands.
Troubled by the injury, Diatchenko was visited by a trainer during the first set and got her left foot and ankle taped.
But she limped out of the match after being broken again in the second set, handing victory to Williams, who is trying to become the first player to win all four Grand Slam tournaments in a season since Steffi Graf in 1988.
She was joined in the next stage by compatriot CoCo Vandeweghe, the winner of an all-American clash with Sloane Stephens.
The world No 45, a quarter-finalist at Wimbledon this year, completed a 6-4 6-3 victory over Stephens.
Vandeweghe set up a clash with yet another US player Bethanie Mattek-Sands, with the winner likely to face Williams in the third round.
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