Serena Williams faces Francesca Schiavone on Monday in the opening round of the 2013 US Open. The match is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. Watch the live stream HERE or ESPN's HERE.
World No. 1 Williams has had only a few hiccups in an otherwise dominant season. Williams, 60-4 on the year with eight titles, added to her resume with wins at Brisbane, Miami, Charleston, Madrid, Rome, Roland Garros, Bastad and Toronto.
At 31-years-old, Williams also doesn't feel she has to prove anything.
"That's the beauty of my career. I don't need to do anything at all," Williams said, via Yahoo! Sports. "Everything I do from this day forward is a bonus. Everything for me is just extra."
She's coming off a loss to Victoria Azarenka in last week's Cincinnati Masters final. In the bid for her fifth US Open title, Williams isn't underestimating her first-round opponent.
"It will be a good match," Williams said of Schiavone. "She's a really good player. She's a big fighter and she's dangerous."
Schiavone, ranked No. 54 in the World, is 20-20 with the Marrakech title to her name this season. The Italian reached the fourth round at the French Open, and she fell in the first round at Wimbledon. She lost in the qualifying rounds for the Cincinnati Masters.
Williams and Schiavone on Monday are meeting for the eighth time. Williams has usually gotten the better of Schiavone, who has only twice defeated the American - once at Rome in 2005, and once at Madrid in 2009. Their last meeting was this year at Toronto, where Williams won in two sets.
*Stats via WTATennis.com and MatchStat.com.
