Six-time winner Serena Williams got off to a winning start Tuesday at a US Open like no other, being played without spectators and with stringent measures to prevent Covid-19 infections. Williams powered past 96th-ranked Kristie Ahn 7-5, 6-3 as she launched her protracted pursuit of a record-equaling 24th singles Grand Slam title on day two at Flushing Meadows.

Elsewhere, Andy Murray fought back from two sets down to win a five-set thriller against Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka, in his first singles Grand Slam match in 18 months because of injury and the coronavirus pandemic. Williams overcame the loss of her first service game in the opening set to advance at a virtually empty Arthur Ashe Stadium, where artwork by black artists is displayed in honor of the Black Lives Matter movement against racial injustice.