NEW YORK: Playing more like a world number one than a player ranked outside the top 600, Serena Williams turned back the clock on Wednesday (Aug 31) to stun world number two Anett Kontaveit 7-6(4) 2-6 6-2 and move into the third round of the US Open, putting her retirement plans on pause. Defeat has always
NEW YORK: Playing more like a world number one than a player ranked outside the top 600, Serena Williams turned back the clock on Wednesday to stun world number two Anett Kontaveit 7-6 2-6 6-2 and move into the third round of the US Open, putting her retirement plans on pause.
Any farewell has now been put on hold with Williams back on centre court on Thursday for a doubles match with older sister Venus, followed by a third round clash with Australian Ajla Tomljanovic who was a 1-6 6-2 7-5 winner over Russia's Evgeniya Rodina. Having been world number one for 319 weeks, Williams arrived in New York ranked below 600, unseeded and with just a single match win from three events coming into the season's final Grand Slam.
Williams claimed the first break to go 5-4 up but faltered serving for the set and Kontaveit broke back to ensure a tie-break.