US Open 2013: Serena Williams beats Galina Voskoboeva 6-3, 6-0: as it happened

That's that, then. And as I'm off to cover Dan Evans against Bernard Tomic, you may talk amongst yourselves in the comment section below.

Righto, then… this probably ought to do it. To 0-15 after another power rally. Then to 15-all as Serena doesn't seem to bothered to chase anything. Then a great point, Serena chasing this time and Voskoboeva finishing it with a lovely backhand twirl. Then it's back to the power and 30-all. And smack, wallop, whatever:

Match point: Second serve… Dismissed.

If this one ends soon, I might be able to squeeze in a live blog of Dan Evans and Bernard Tomic. No pressure, chaps.

Bad error from Voskoboeva, who looks obligingly shot, it has to be said… Serena then goes for the ace but shoots it wide. Impressive winner up the middle of the court – just too much power, again – for 30-0. Very easy for 40-0, with Voskoboeva motionless at the baseline, and then… second serve… and… a hell of a winner from Voskoboeva. Somewhat surprising. And an error from Serena on the rally for 40-30.

Big serve does it.

Back to the Stones between games – Jumpin' Jack Flash this time. Seem to remember that they like that one here.

Voskoboeva plays a decent point for 15-0, showing that she's still going to fight despite the rather obvious direction in which this match is heading, which is illustrated by a limply lost next point. Serena goes long next, though, and then wins a rally with a rather odd mis-hit of a winner. Forehand half-overhead volley thing, that was. Then Voskoboeva plays a poor shot into the net and faces yet another break point.

Break point: Oh dear. Wide on the two-handed forehand.

Voskoboeva makes an overhead shot, making up some for the one she skied a while ago, and it's 0-15; the next point is back to the power game, which of course means that Serena – now – wins it.

Shoelace delay for Serena. Excitingly.

Serve far too heavy, so it's 30-15… and then a rally in which Voskoboeva's drop shot at the net works. Now there's a thing. A left-handed shot in there from Serena, too. That's also a thing. Voskoboeva error for 40-30.

Ace.

Voskoboeva seems to be struggling with her serve now, and you can't do that against Serena as if you do, and if you have to resort to a rather soft second serve, you open yourself up to her power game. Very impressive winner on the second point from Serena, almost teed up as Voskoboeva came into the net.

And to 0-40 with Voskoboeva again coming to the net and being passed. Not a tactic that's working.

First break point goes to that second serve and Serena finds the net. Second break point also goes to second serve… and Voskoboeva finds the net on a forehand and sinks to her knees, rather.

Ace to start – only Serena's second, but also her fastest serve of the day. Heavy duty again on the next serve, for 30-0. Voskoboeva gets a couple back after that, but is eventually sent sprawling. And a third ace wraps it up. Ominous.

Serving to stay in the set, then, the tall Kazakh is. Down 0-15 she is also, to continue Yoda-esque. Not sure how that happened. Then a forehand into the net is frustrating for Voskoboeva, who goes down 0-30. Good time to pull out a good serve and a well-managed point off it for 15-30. Second serve on the next point, though – and, despite that apparent portent, a fine forehand winner, her ninth to Serena's six, to make it 30-all. And another – 40-30. Very strong play from Voskoboeva – real power and aggression to match her opponent.

Ah. Double fault for deuce. Hey-ho. And error for set point – hey-ho, hey-ho. 

Set point #1: saved, Voskoboeva gets the benefit of the net tape and Serena hits long, and shrieks.

Big serve then for advantage to Voskoboeva, who's hanging in there. Long rally follows, Voskoboeva plays the slice drop thing again, Serena reaches it but falls and Voskoboeva puts the 16th shot of the rally nowhere good with the court at her mercy. And so it goes.

Set point #2 coming up, after another decent rally which Serena sort of wrestles into her favour with a number of choke holds and throws.

Set point it is, then, and it goes to second serve – and a rally – and a Voskoboeva error into the net.

That might have been Lenny Kravitz. On the speakers, as opposed to in the crowd like a New York version of Cliff Richard. Though he might yet prove to be up there. Lenny, I mean.

Ace to start but Voskoboeva challenges – and wins it. Quite a bit out, that one. That's a very, very big second serve, though: 15-0.

Half a query on the call on the next serve, from Serena, but she accepts the umpire's explanation and whacks down another unreturnable second serve anyway. Next first serve prompts a long return for 40-0 and then an error of her own makes it 40-15. Double fault – crikey. That's 40-30. And an error at the net for deuce. Most unusual.

Serena really leans into the next serve, which is a let, so she leans into another one and goes to game point as Voskoboeva can only sky it. Error back to deuce, though. A little unfocused from Serena, maybe?

Nicely won rally gets Serena back to advantage, and brings out another exhortation to herself. Nope, another error on the rally. Deuce again.

That's a shame – Voskoboeva plays a great rally and pushes Serena about, then goes for the droppy-slicey shot again and finds the very bottom of the net. And then, finally, some absurd Serena power wins the game.

Big game for Voskoboeva… starts with a Serena error, long on the rally, taken by the wind a bit. And then, I said Voskoboeva would, being tall, be good at the smash. That one she doesn't get on top of and thus sends into the stands. Serena should have taken it to 15-30 next, but powers an easy winner at the net long. A shriek ensues. No sound after she finds the net on the next rally, which is another one of brute force met with brute force.

Dismissive Serena forehand winner on the next point – off the next serve, in fact. But then an ace from Voskoboeva.

Serena seems to have woken up after the fright of conceding a break point a couple of games ago. And so.

Duffed drop shot from Voskoboeva – the shot she likes, but not the execution. Anything sliced is floating about a bit on the breeze here. Error on the double backhand return for 30-0. A massive serve for 40-0; another one which is out as Voskoboeva sort of nicks it to the slips. Game follows easily enough.

Now I don't recognise the changeover music. Young people's stuff I suppose. Maybe it's Robin Thicke.

Voskoboeva starts the game 7-3 up on winners, you know. But then fires a loser up the right on that massive forehand and thus goes 0-15 down. Serena error for 15-all on a heavy-hitting rally. Big thumps off the rackets, big grunts from both players. Monolithic tennis.

Double fault from Voskoboeva – the first from either player – makes it 15-30, then it's 15-40 on a rally with both playing drop shots and then Serena reaching one to slap a forehand cross-court winner.

Break point goes to second serve, and Voskoboeva hits needlessly long.

Often wondered how they choose the music for changeovers at Flushing Meadow. It was Under my Thumb by the Stones there… which Voskoboeva isn't yet, Serena-wise.

An error from Serena and a call of frustration, and it's 0-15, and then a nice forehand winner from Voskoboeva, right-handed up the tramlines to Serena's left. Interesting play. Serena has a problem with the ball urchin not paying attention, and takes out her frustration on the ball that's eventually proffered. That's 15-30, and it's 30-all on a Voskoboeva error into the net. Serena's first serve isn't firing properly yet, so we go to second, and Voskoboeva wins a rally-ish rally with ease, with a volley at the net put away.

Break point, then – Serena wins it back with a big serve, and goes to advantage with another. “Come on,” she tells herself, forcefully, and then she hammers down a massive ace for 2-2.

Ace to start from “the tall Kazakh” – a spot of elegant variation there. There's not much on her second serve, then some power on court, but Serena matches it well, coming to the net and slapping a forehand past her for 15-all. 

Serena error makes it 30-15, then a good serve for 40-15 – possibly the wind did something on that one. To second serve she goes – and wins the game on another error. She hits the ball, does the tall Kazakh.

And so Serena serves for the first time, and lo, the first serve is a touch too heavy for Voskoboeva to deal with. As is the second, which is a second – if you follow. Possible effect of wind there. If you follow.

Third point follows the same pattern – too much power, 113mph of it. Then Voskoboeva gets one back and Serena seems a tad surprised and loses the point going long. Big serve for the game.

Voskoboeva loses the first point herself, hitting long under no pressure, then takes the second on the back of another solid-looking serve, with the forehand. Then she attempts a slice-forehand dink and it goes long – a too-powerful dink, indeed. Strong lady.

Ace for 30-all follows, showing that strength again – 101mph on it – and a good, forceful point to set up one game point. Williams error and it's a hold.

And so we're off. Voskoboeva to serve.

That is, it can quickly start to rain. Though said rain can also come down rather quickly after it has been quick to begin. And so on and so forth.

Blue sky, puffy clouds, spot of sun, not horribly humid. That's at the moment, obviously. It can rain quickly in NY at this time of year.

Emmanuel Joseph, of France.

As the Guardian US Sports tweet has it:

#USOpen: Serena Williams vs Galina Voskoboeva – live! http://gu.com/p/3tbd8/tw  Send your tweets to @MartinPengelly to be included in the blog!

I'd post a photo of Galina Voskoboeva for you, but as yet our system doesn't have one. I can tell you, then, that she is tall and thus has good reach and is probably good at smashes. So's Serena, of course, but there you are.

I'd heard of Miley Cyrus, obviously if a tad obliquely.

Warm-up now taking place…

Serena has been warming up by listening to Blurred Lines by that Robin Thicke chap who was involved in the thing with Miley Cyrus the other night. The thing that became an internet thing. You know.

I can honestly – proudly – say that I had never heard of Robin Thicke until the thing in which he was involved happened the other night.

Pre-game remarks from Voskoboeva…

…I played against Serena last year so I have an idea of how she will play. So I will do my best.

Can't say fairer than that, really.

Is English2English, our Tumblr dedicated to the differences and similarities between the UK and the US which, conveniently for us here, seeks to award either country an “advantage” on whichever issue is being discussed.

And today I have written something for it, entitled 'On tennis'.

I don't mention it in the piece so I'll mention it, ruthlessly, here: as the first British man ever to live-blog a British man winning a grand slam singles title (Murray was just the first British man to win one in 77 years, the slacker), I think myself entirely qualified to pass such pomposities as this.

…because in the past it has become an issue of surprising contention:

Williams* 0-0 Voskoboeva

That means that in the game I'm describing – necessarily after the event, if only just – Williams was serving.

If I go point by point – not that likely here, but you never know – the change will be obvious.

If you're in the US, good afternoon. If you're in the UK, good evening. And if you're in Australia… God knows. To all else, a simple 'what-ho' will have to suffice.

It's US Open time again – what with all the fun it was last year, that has to be a good thing, what? – and this is the Guardian's coverage of Serena Williams, the ladies' champion, taking on Galina Voskoboeva on or in or at Arthur Ashe. A day later than planned, thanks to the not entirely unsurprising rain at this time of the year in New York. They're going to put a lid on the court here. There just isn't one now. But onwards and upwards, what?

Serena Williams, for it is she, is the world No1 and the reigning champion here and at Roland Garros. She's also the reigning Olympic champion, although I can never be entirely persuaded that tennis should be an Olympic sport, any more than bloody golf, so I'm going to say that's a bit lesser than her four US Open, five Wimbledon, two French and five Australian singles titles. This year she has a 61-4 record, which is pretty good, and when I have liveblogged her in the past the results (on court) have, for her opponents at least, been nasty, brutish and short. Thoughts arising: a) poor old Sara Errani was the unfortunate oppo in two of those & b) those, I believe, were the eighth, ninth and tenth dwarves.

Errani is now out, having lost to Flavia Penetta in the match before this one, but what of the necessarily intrepid Galina Voskoboeva? Well, she's represented Kazakhstan since 2008, despite having been born in Moscow 28 and a few bits years ago; she's currently No77 in the world, having reached No42 for a spell last year; she's been to the US Open eight times and matched this year's performance once, in 2012. This year, she beat Monica Niculescu of Romania in a couple of sets. She's had a couple of third-round games in Australia. And she has a cat called Gabriela.

So far as head-to-head statistics go, these two have met once, in Rome last year. Serena won 6-2, 6-3 in not much more than an hour. To avoid further unseemly scrambling, I'll take that for my…

Prediction: Serena to win 6-2, 6-3 in not much more than an hour.

I'll be back when the players are on their way to the court, which will be “not before” 1pm ET. (That's 6pm BST & … something in Australia. Haphazard calculation from page at front of diary suggests something between two and five in the morning. Will be expecting plenty of interaction from Australia, then.)

Oh, and… here's Kevin Mitchell's page for all his US Open coverage. Read it and weep tears of gratitude.