Serena eases ominously into second round

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Serena Williams launched her bid for a third U.S. Open title with a ruthless 6-1 6-4 demolition of Ukraine's Kateryna Bondarenko in the first round on Tuesday.

The fourth-seeded American delivered a typically muscular display of power serving and searing groundstrokes to wrap up victory in just under an hour on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.

U.S. Open champion in 1999 and 2002 and runner-up to her sister Venus in 2001, Williams breezed through the opening set in just 19 minutes before breaking her opponent in the 10th game of the second to seal the win.

Williams, who is seeded to meet her sister in the quarter-finals, will next meet either Russian Elena Vesnina or Julia Vakulenko of Ukraine.

(Editing by Pritha Sarkar)