Serena Williams defeats Maria Sharapova in the US Open opening night matchup
Serena Williams is one step closer to winning her personal record-breaking 24th Grand Slam title in New York City.
Williams, back on the court from a minor back injury in Canada, played against her longtime rival Maria Sharapova in the women’s singles first round at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. The two played an intense back-and-forth game with Sharapova gaining the advantage at one point. Ultimately, Williams edged out her opponent for the win.
RELATED: Take a look at the highest-paid tennis players of all time:
30 PHOTOS30 highest-paid tennis players of all timeSee Gallery30 highest-paid tennis players of all time
30. Goran Ivanisevic — $19,878,007
Nationality: Croatian
Grand Slam titles: 1 (Wimbledon)
Overall titles: 22
(Photo by James Elsby/Getty Images)
29. Stefan Edberg — $20,630,941
Nationality: Swedish
Grand Slam titles: 6 (2 Australian, 2 Wimbledon, 2 US Open)
Overall titles: 41
(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
28. Andy Roddick — $20,640,030
Nationality: American
Grand Slam titles: 1 (US Open)
Overall titles: 32
(REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
27. Lleyton Hewitt — $20,849,000
Nationality: Australian
Grand Slam titles: 2 (1 Wimbledon, 1 US Open)
Overall titles: 30
(Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
26. Justine Henin — $20,863,335
Nationality: Belgian
Grand Slam titles: 7 (1 Australian Open, 4 French Open, 2 US Open)
Overall titles: 43
(REUTERS/Toby Melville)
25. Ivan Lendl — $21,262,417
Nationality: Czech and American
Grand Slam titles: 8 (2 Australian Open, 3 French Open, 3 US Open)
Overall titles: 94
(Photo by Alberto Pezzali/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
24. Martina Navratilova — $21,626,089
Nationality: Czech and American
Grand Slam titles: 18 (9 Wimbledon, 4 US Open, 3 Australian Open, 2 French Open)
Overall titles: 167
(Action Images / Paul Childs)
23. Steffi Graf — $21,895,277
Nationality: German
Grand Slam titles: 22 (7 Wimbledon, 6 French Open, 5 US Open, 4 Australian Open)
Overall titles: 107
(Photo by Power Sport Images/Getty Images)
22. Lindsay Davenport — $22,166,338
Nationality: American
Grand Slam titles: 3 (1 Australian, 1 Wimbledon, 1 US Open)
Overall titles: 55
(Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
21. Yevgeny Kafelnikov — $23,883,797
Nationality: Russian
Grand Slam titles: 2 (1 Australian, 1 French Open)
Overall titles: 26
(Photo by Phil Cole/Getty Images)
20. Svetlana Kuznetsova — $24,484,712
Nationality: Russian
Grand Slam titles: 2 (1 French Open, 1 US Open)
Overall titles: 18
(Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
19. Kim Clijsters — $24,442,340
Nationality: Belgian
Grand Slam titles: 4 (3 US Open, 1 Australian Open)
Overall titles: 41
(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
18. Martina Hingis — $24,749,074
Nationality: Swiss
Grand Slam titles: 5 (3 Australian Open, 1 Wimbledon, 1 US Open)
Overall titles: 43
(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
17. Boris Becker — $25,080,956
Nationality: German
Grand Slam titles: 6 (3 Wimbledon, 2 Australian, 1 US Open)
Overall titles: 49
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
16. Petra Kvitová — $26,983,358
Nationality: Czech
Grand Slam titles: 2 (2 Wimbledon)
Overall titles: 25
(Photo by Chaz Niell/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
15. Agnieszka Radwańska — $27,626,407
Nationality: Polish
Grand Slam titles: 0
Overall titles: 20
(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
14. Tomas Berdych — $28,931,999
Nationality: Czech
Grand Slam titles: 0
Overall titles: 13
(Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
13. Victoria Azarenka — $29,088,041
Nationality: Belarusian
Grand Slam titles: 2 (2 Australian Open)
Overall titles: 20
(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
12. Caroline Wozniacki — $30,880,173
Nationality: Danish
Grand Slam titles: 1 (Australian Open)
Overall titles: 29
(Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)
11. Andre Agassi — $31,152,975
Nationality: American
Grand Slam titles: 8 (4 Australian Open, 2 US Open, 1 Wimbledon, 1 French Open)
Overall titles: 60
(Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
10. Stan Wawrinka — $31,378,297
Nationality: Swiss
Grand Slam titles: 3 (1 Australian Open, 1 French Open, 1 US Open)
Overall titles: 16
(Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)
9. David Ferrer — $31,230,696
Nationality: Spanish
Grand Slam titles: 0
Overall titles: 27
(Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
8. Maria Sharapova — $38,076,119
Nationality: Russian
Grand Slam titles: 5 (2 French Open, 1 Wimbledon, 1 US Open, 1 Australian Open)
Overall titles: 36
(Photo by Chaz Niell/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
7. Venus Williams — $40,775,048
Nationality: American
Grand Slam titles: 7 (5 Wimbledon, 2 US Open)
Overall titles: 49
(Photo by Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images)
6. Pete Sampras — $43,280,489
Nationality: American
Grand Slam titles: 14 (7 Wimbledon, 5 U.S. Open, 2 Australian Open)
Overall titles: 64
(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images for IPTL 2014)
5. Andy Murray — $60,931,985
Nationality: Scottish
Grand Slam titles: 3 (2 Wimbledon, 1 US Open)
Overall titles: 45
(Photo by Mohammed Elshamy/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
4. Serena Williams — $86,383,301
Nationality: American
Grand Slam titles: 23 (7 Wimbledon, 7 Australian, 6 US Open, 3 French Open)
Overall titles: 72
(Photo by TPN/Getty Images)
3. Rafael Nadal — $102,326,975
Nationality: Spanish
Grand Slam titles: 17 (11 French Open, 2 Wimbledon, 3 US Open, 1 Australian Open)
Overall titles: 80
(Photo by Mohammed Elshamy/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
2. Novak Djokovic — $115,310,890
Nationality: Serbian
Grand Slam titles: 13 (6 Australian Open, 4 Wimbledon, 2 US Open, 1 French Open)
Overall titles: 70
(Photo by Mohammed Elshamy/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
1. Roger Federer — $117,507,812
Nationality: Swiss
Grand Slam titles: 20 (8 Wimbledon, 5 US Open, 6 Australian Open, 1 French Open)
Overall titles: 98
(Photo by Mohammed Elshamy/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
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If Williams wins this year’s US Open championship, she’ll tie with Margaret Court with most titles of any player, ever.
This year’s Open also marks the 50th anniversary of the National Junior Tennis League, founded by Arthur Ashe, Charlie Pasarell and Sheridan Snyder.
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