US Open: Serena Williams Advanced To The Third Round
In a remarkable move, Serena Williams extended her Grand Slam single career on Wednesday by advancing to the third round of the US Open and defeating second seed Anett Kontaveit.
The 40-year-old tennis legend defeated Kontaveit with a 7-6 (7/4), 2-6, 6-2 victory at an electrifying Arthur Ashe Stadium. The tennis legend has indicated she will retire after the tournament.
Kontaveit leveled the match at 1-1 with a strong second-set performance, and it looked like she had gained the upper hand over the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion.
But Williams showed her champion’s mentality to yank back momentum in the decider, breaking Kontaveit twice before closing out victory to leave a sell-out crowd featuring the likes of golf superstar Tiger Woods on its feet.
“You know this is what I do best,” a delighted Williams said after her win.
“I love a challenge and love rising to the challenge. I haven’t played many matches but I’ve been practicing really well and in my last few matches it just wasn’t coming together…But the last couple of matches here in New York it’s really come together.”
– ‘This could be it’ –
As Kontaveit improved her performance to win the second set, Williams acknowledged she had dreaded the worst.
“I thought ‘Oh my goodness, I’ve got to give my best effort because this could be it,” Williams said. “I just wanted to keep trying and see what I could do and do my best.”
Williams, who claimed her first Grand Slam singles title at the US Open in 1999 when she was just 17 years old, said she was now playing without any pressure because she could see the end of her remarkable career approaching.
“I don’t have anything to prove, I don’t have anything to win. I have absolutely nothing to lose,” she said.
Williams will return to Arthur Ashe on Thursday to take part in the women’s doubles, where she will reunite with elder sister Venus for the first time since 2018.
Kontaveit meanwhile admitted she had been rattled by a ferociously partisan New York crowd.
“I expected it but it was really hard,” Kontaveit said. “I knew it was coming. It was something I’d never experienced before.”
On the third day of the competition, Serena’s triumph once more captured the spotlight.
Wednesday’s other women’s draw action saw China’s Wang Xiyu defeat Greece’s third seed Maria Sakkari, winning 3-6, 7-5, 7-5.
The 21-year-old, who had never advanced past the second round of a Grand Slam event, uncorked 35 winners while fending off 12 of her opponent’s 17 break points to claim victory.
Wang, who is currently ranked 75th in the world, has fond memories of New York after winning the junior US Open championship there in 2018.
Ons Jabeur of Tunisia, a former Wimbledon finalist who lost, defeated American Elizabeth Mandlik by scores of 7-5 and 6-2 to advance to the round of 32.
The USA’s 12th-seeded Coco Gauff, meanwhile, advanced to the third round with a 6-2, 7-6 (7/4) win over unseeded Romanian Elena Gabriela Ruse.
That win sets up an all-American showdown between Gauff and 20th seed Madison Keys, who needed three sets to edge past Italy’s Camila Giorgi, winning 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (10/6).
Leylah Fernandez, the 2021 runner-up, exited at the hands of Liudmila Samsonova 6-3, 7-6 (7/3).
– Murray advances –
Daniil Medvedev, the defending champion and top seed in the men’s draw, upset France’s Arthur Rinderknech 6-2, 7-5, 6-3 to set up a third-round matchup with Chinese qualifier Wu Yibing.
After eliminating the 31st-seeded Nikoloz Basilashvili from the competition on Monday and defeating fellow qualifier Nuno Borges of Portugal on Wednesday, Wu became the first Chinese man to win a singles match in a Grand Slam in 63 years.
Wu, who is rated 174th in the world, won with scores of 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 6-4, and 6-4.
In other men’s events, 2012 winner Andy Murray defeated American wildcard Emilio Nava in four sets to reach the third round for the first time in six years.
The 35-year-old Scot won 5-7, 6-3, 6-1, 6-0, and is happy with how his prone-to-injury physique has so far fared.
“Physically this is the best I’ve felt in the last few years,” said Murray.
Murray will face world number 14 Matteo Berrettini in the next round. The Italians defeated France’s Hugo Grenier 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (9/7).
Australia’s Nick Kyrgios meanwhile delivered a typically volatile display in a four-set win over France’s Benjamin Bonzi on Louis Armstrong court.
Kyrgios appeared to aim a mouthful of spit in the general direction of his box and then dropped several F-bombs at his team during a 7-6 (7/3), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory.
He also complained to the umpire that he could smell marijuana smoke in the crowd.
AFP
