e semis this year, Id be excited about that.Meanwhile, her sister?Venus Williams needed three sets to win her 18th first-round match at the US Open.S

NEW YORK -- If this is how Serena Williams serves when she cant practice properly because her right shoulder is sore, watch out when shes 100 percent healthy.A year after falling two wins short of a calendar-year Grand Slam by bowing out in the US Open semifinals, Williams showed zero signs of shoulder trouble on Tuesday night as she began her bid for a record-breaking 23rd major title.She hit 12 aces and reached 121 mph on her powerful serve during a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Ekaterina Makarova, a potentially tricky first-round opponent at Flushing Meadows.I was pleased with my serve, because I havent been hitting a lot of serves at all, the 34-year-old Williams said. In practice, none of them were going in, so I was definitely excited about that.Since equaling Steffi Grafs mark for most Grand Slam singles trophies in the Open era, which dates to 1968, by earning No. 22 at Wimbledon in July, the No. 1-ranked Williams had entered only one event -- the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, where she was upset in the third round. She cited a sore shoulder in withdrawing from a hard-court tournament a week later.She looked perfectly fine against Makarova, a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist who is ranked 29th. Makarova beat Williams in straight sets at the 2012 Australian Open.I knew today I needed to be focused, because Ive played her, Williams said of Makarova. Shes gotten to the semifinals. She goes deep in majors. She knows how to play big matches on big courts. Shes not intimidated. I knew I had to really come out today. It was my only option, really.Well, consider that done.Wearing black sleeves on each arm -- she called the accessories definitely functional, because they keep my muscles warm -- Williams averaged 108 mph on first serves and won 17 of the first 20 points she served, 36 of 46 overall, never appearing to be the least bit bothered by anything.And she even figured that maybe the time she couldnt spend serving during training sessions paid off, in a way, because she was forced to address other aspects of her game, including footwork.I couldnt hit any balls. I wanted to stay fit, so ... I guess that kind of helped me out a little bit, she said.In 2015, Williams arrived at the US Open having won four consecutive major titles for a self-styled Serena Slam. But had she also won the championship in New York, she would have made it 4-for-4 within a single season, something no one had done since Graf in 1988.But that pursuit ended with a surprising semifinal loss to Roberta Vinci of Italy.Later, Williams acknowledged what was at stake had been a burden.Williams was asked Tuesday whether this edition of the US Open might be a more pleasant experience than a year ago, without the same sort of history on the line.I had a great experience last year. I was going for something that no one has done in a really long time, she replied. Yeah, it didnt end out wonderful for me, or the way I wanted it to end, but it was all I could do. Thats all I could do. If I could make the semis this year, Id be excited about that.Meanwhile, her sister?Venus Williams needed three sets to win her 18th first-round match at the US Open.She defeated Kateryna Kozlova of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 6-4, despite 63 unforced errors, and improved to 18-0 in the Opens first round. Only Chris Evert (19-0) has a better record in the first round in the Open era, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.?She led 5-2 in the third set, but the 22-year-old Kozlova pushed her to the limit in the 2-hour, 42-minute match.It was great to be challenged and to be pushed, said the 36-year-old Venus Williams, a two-time US Open champion, because I had to get in those situations that you know youre going to face in the tournament.She next faces?Julia Goerges, who defeated Yanina Wickmayer 6-3, 6-2.Also on the womens side,?Simona Halep gave herself less than nine for her quick work against Kirsten Flipkens.The Romanian was ahead 6-0, 5-0, with countrywoman Nadia Comaneci cheering her on. Comaneci was the first gymnast to score a perfect 10 at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.Halep, the fifth seed, was unable to complete the double bagel, however, as she wound up winning 6-0, 6-2.Halep said she wasnt perfect, but she was pleased with her play against the Belgian. She got 69 percent of her first serves in and won 12 of 15 points at the net.Halep, who reached the semifinals of the US Open last year, will next face Lucie Safarova, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Daria Gavrilova.In other matches,?Ana Ivanovic?tumbled out of the US Open in the first round for the second straight year after a 7-6 (4), 6-1 loss to Denisa Allertova of the Czech Republic.A former No. 1 player who has slipped to 31st in the rankings, Ivanovic was serving for the first set at 6-5 but struggled with her serve and faltered in the tiebreaker. The 2008 French Open champion finished with seven double faults and 41 unforced errors.At the US Open, Ivanovic has reached the fourth round or better five times, including a career-best quarterfinal run in 2012.Meanwhile, 2011 US Open champion?Samantha Stosur?advanced with a 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-1 win over Camila Giorgi, who had an ace to win the second-set tiebreaker.Stosur, however, streaked out to a 4-0 lead in the deciding set and next will face Zhang Shuai, who defeated Ellen Perez 6-1, 6-1.The Associated Press contributed to this report.Jordan 6 For Sale Nz . - Oakland Raiders running back Rashad Jennings was speaking to a group of local high school students earlier this week when the conversation turned to the importance of being prepared when opportunities in life arise. Air Jordan 6 Nz . Ouellette, from Montreal, already has three Olympic gold medals since joining the team in 1999. http://www.airjordan6nz.com/ . The 18-year-old American had five birdies in her bogey-free round for a 17-under total of 196. Lee held the overnight lead but mixed three birdies with two bogeys for a 70. Cheap Authentic Jordan 6 . Ivanovic was leading 7-5, 1-0 when Hantuchova withdrew after falling 0-40 behind in the second game. The match started slowly for Ivanovic, who surrendered her first two serves as Hantuchova took a 5-3 lead. Cheap Air Jordan 6 Nz . Belfort (24-10) needed just 77 seconds to down Henderson in the headlining bout of Saturdays "UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson" event at Goiania Arena in Goiania, Brazil. The fight served as a rematch of the pairs 2006 meeting, which Henderson won by decision.NRL referees boss Tony Archer has backed his officials to clamp down on teams for high tackles as the 2016 finals series moves into its penultimate weekendIn a major contrast to week one of the finals, Archer praised the performances of his men at the two semi-finals in Townsville and Canberra.However he urged his whistleblowers to continue to penalise offenders over a concerning increase in high tackles in the first six finals games this post-season.If there is a high tackle and its foul play, my expectation is that the on-field officials will penalise that, Archer told the NRL website on Monday.There have been a few in the semi-finals but from my view going forward this weekend that wont change.I thought we had a really good weekend. Leading off from the high tackles, the expectation that they make those decisions and make those decisions as it ramps up.dddddddddddd.Canberra forward Elliot Whitehead was lucky to escape sanction from the match review committee after connecting with the head of Penrith counterpart Isaah Yeo on Saturday night.Match review chairman Michael Buettner explained that while Whitehead did hit Yeo high, the Panthers forward was falling and the contact was accidental.You can see Yeo, who did drop dramatically, was hit low by one of the Raiders players. There was no swinging arm from Elliot Whitehead in this instance, he said.And the contact was deemed incidental. There was not a careless nature and thats one of the key elements. On this occasion it was just a bit of football. ' ' '