Francesca Schiavone needs to hug ballboy during crushing loss to Serena Williams (VIDEO)

Serena Williams beat Francesca Schiavone in the first round of the U.S. Open so soundly on Monday that the loser requested a playful, comforting hug from a surprised ball boy.

Williams played Schiavone Monday —and she wasn't so easy on the Italian tennis phenom.

Williams, the top-seeded player and defending U.S. Open champion, crushed Schiavone 6-0, 6-1, winning 24 of 30 points in the first set.

The second set didn't go much better for Schiavone, who was the first Italian to win a major tennis tournament when she won the 2010 French Open.

Williams began the second set by winning a 26-point game - and it only got worse for Schiavone from there. 

In the third game of the second set, Schiavone lost yet another point. So, she walked up to the unsuspecting ball boy and forced him into a comical embrace as the crowd let out a collective "awww."

Schiavone apparently knew what she was in for before the match. At her pregame presser, she asked what her reaction was when she found out that she would be playing Williams in the first round of this year's Open.

Her response: "Oh f***!" That's Italian for Oh f***!