Serena Williams insists her shoulder problem is not harming her performance after the American dispatched Ekaterina Makarova in the US Open first round.

Williams wore compression sleeves on both arms in Arthur Ashe Stadium but showed no visible sign of weakness as the world number one cruised to a 6-3 6-3 victory against the Russian.

She shot 12 aces with her faulty right shoulder and Makarova failed to create a single break point as Williams booked a second-round meeting with fellow American Vania King.

“No, I didn’t make too many adjustments,” Williams said.

“I didn’t hit my serves as hard as I normally hit them. I just went for more placement. I didn’t go for the big 120s, just the regular.”

Williams is bidding to win a 23rd grand slam title at Flushing Meadows, which would take her above Steffi Graf’s Open-era record and within one of Margaret Court’s all-time best.

She added a note of caution to any optimism about her fitness, however, admitting she increasingly feels pain the day after a match.
“Usually it’s the day of (playing that I feel it),” Williams said.
“But as time has progressed, and this past week it’s usually been the day after, so that’s a really positive thing.”