NEW YORK -- Never shy, Serena Williams arrived in defense of her U.S. Open title resplendent in tie-dyed lilac and black, and flashing a pert smile that bespoke the confidence of a champion.

	Serena Williams had four aces and 24 winners in her 6-3, 6-2 win Tuesday over Tina Pisnik.

The crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium was still buzzing Tuesday from the dismissal of French Open champ Gustavo Kuerten, the men's No. 2 seed, who fell victim to lanky Australian qualifier Wayne Arthurs' 26 aces in a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (1) defeat.

If the fans thought that upset would be a prelude to another, Williams quickly set out to disabuse them of that notion and any thought that her recent heel injury might hinder her.

First she made her color-coordinated fashion statement, slowly peeling off her lilac jacket to reveal a sheer, flowing dress that perfectly matched her lilac sneakers.

"It shows how good I look, how in shape I am," Williams said with a laugh.

Then she made a tennis statement, ripping a return winner on the first point as she proceeded to crush 19-year-old Slovenian Tina Pisnik 6-3, 6-2.

In beginning her quest to reach the final along with her older sister Venus, 18-year-old Serena did not display her finest tennis, even if it was enough to overwhelm a player of Pisnik's modest ability.

"I was not the usual Serena," she said. "It showed a little bit because it should have been a little quicker. Y'know, it was 59 minutes. I'm used to 40s and 30s now. ... I didn't play well today.

"Actually, I was expecting to feel really special. I didn't. The guy that was announcing, he said, 'Our defending U.S. Open champ,' and I couldn't help but smile. Other than that, I didn't really feel it."

There were times when Williams soared spectacularly on overheads and lunging volleys, and times when she walloped serves at 111 mph to rack up four aces and six service winners. But there were also times when she found herself out of position, when her lilac shoes got tangled up, when Pisnik made her look quite ordinary.

That happened once in the first set, when Pisnik broke her at love in the fourth game, and once again in the second set, when Pisnik broke her at 15-40 with a backhand at the net.

But those lapses were perhaps to be expected after Williams missed a week to allow an inflamed small bone in her left heel to calm down. The injury flared up nine days ago during her final against Martina Hingis in Montreal, and Williams cautiously retired from that match in the third set.

Kuerten was the second seeded player to tumble from the tournament on the second day. Earlier, No. 16 Julie Halard-Decugis fell to Miriam Oremans 6-3, 6-4.

Lindsay Davenport, the 1998 women's champion, romped past Gala Leon Garcia of Spain 6-0, 6-1 in 44 minutes.

In the fourth game of the second set, Leon Garcia, who prefers to play on clay rather than the hardcourts of the National Tennis Center, whipped a winning forehand into the corner and raised her arms in triumph. Two points later, she had won her first -- and only -- game, breaking Davenport at 15.

"I feel it's great to get an easy one under my belt," Davenport said. "There's still a lot of tennis left."

Other seeded players to win Tuesday included No. 4 Mary Pierce, No. 7 Conchita Martinez, No. 10 Anke Huber, No. 12 Anna Kournikova and No. 14 Dominique Van Roost.