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Opinion
It seems like Serena Williams isn’t ready to evolve into life after tennis just yet.
Arthur Ashe Stadium was rocking again as the American continued to turn back the clock with another vintage display, outlasting second seed Anett Kontaveit in three sets to make it a perfect 42-0 in first and second-round matches at Flushing Meadows.
The American, ranked just outside the top 600 after an injury-riddled past 12 months, struck first when she broke in the ninth game to put herself in the position to serve for the opening set at 5-4.
But Kontaveit would break back in the very next game, and she eventually took the opening set to a tiebreak which the local favourite would win 7-4, thus pocketing the first set in just over one hour.
The second seed was quick to hit back though, racing through the second set in just 36 minutes to force the match into a deciding set and Williams into having to win the deciding set just to keep her singles career alive.
A break early in the final set for a 4-1 lead proved to be enough for the American, as she claimed it 6-2, completing a three-set victory in just under two-and-a-half hours, the result ensuring her singles career remains alive for at least another 48 hours.
It also meant that Williams remained unbeaten against players ranked second in the world, having not suffered a defeat against such a highly ranked opponent since she lost to Victoria Azarenka in the Cincinnati final in 2013.
Next for the 40-year-old is Australia’s top-ranked female player, Ajla Tomljanovic, who recovered from a dismal opening set to get the better of Evgeniya Rodina in three sets, claiming the final set 7-5.
The 29-year-old dropped the opening set, winning just one game, but was quick to hit back hard, a double break early in the second set proving enough for her to take the second set 6-2 before emerging victorious on her second match point in the decider.
Tomljanovic now faces possibly the most daunting challenge of her career: facing the game’s greatest player in front of what’s expected to be another capacity crowd of nearly 30,000 fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday morning (AEST).
Sure, she has faced a reigning world No. 1 at a major before – when she lost to compatriot and eventual champion Ashleigh Barty at Wimbledon last year – but facing a legendary player fighting to keep her tennis career alive will be a different proposition altogether.
In other women’s results, 2019 champion Bianca Andreescu dismissed 15th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia to set up a clash with 17th seed Caroline Garcia, while last year’s finalist Leylah Fernandez departed after losing to Liudmila Samsonova in straight sets.
Andreescu’s path has been made slightly easier by the shock defeat of third seed Maria Sakkari, who went down in three sets to China’s Wang Xiyu, capping off a dismal season at the majors in which she failed to advance past the third round.
Madison Keys, the 20th seed, came from behind to beat Italian veteran Camila Giorgi and set up an all-American showdown against 12th seed Coco Gauff, who had it much easier defeating Elena-Gabriela Ruse in straight sets.
(Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
On the men’s side of things, Nick Kyrgios moved one step closer to a potential fourth-round blockbuster against world No. 1 and defending champion Daniil Medvedev after seeing off Benjamin Bonzi in four sets.
The Canberran sent down 30 aces and hit twice as many winners in a three-hour match that had just about everything you’d come to expect when he steps foot onto a tennis court.
He was very nearly forced into a fifth set when he faced three break points in the ninth game of the fourth set, but he would wipe them out and then break in the very next game to secure the victory and set up a third-round clash against American wildcard JJ Wolf.
Kyrgios’s countryman Alex de Minaur also advanced to the third round, settling a two-month score against Cristian Garin with a four-set victory that banished the demons of his heartbreaking five-set loss to the Chilean at Wimbledon back in July.
From three-all in the opening set, the Sydneysider, who lives in Spain, rattled off nine games in a row to take control of the contest, but Garin would peg back the third set by 6-4 before de Minaur settled the matter by 6-2 in the fourth.
The 23-year-old next faces Spanish 12th seed Pablo Carreno Busta for a place in the fourth round, his path to the quarter-finals having opened up after Canadian sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime suffered a shock straight-sets defeat at the hands of Brit Jack Draper.
Also advancing to the third round were 13th seed Matteo Berrettini and 2012 champion Andy Murray, who will now face off in an enticing third-round clash with the winner having a golden opportunity to reach the quarter-finals in the section blown wide open by the first-round exit of Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Top seed Daniil Medvedev marched into the third round with a straightforward win over Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech.
The second round continues this morning (AEST) with 55 grand slam singles titles worth of experience highlighting the Arthur Ashe Stadium schedule.
(Photo by Diego Souto/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
Arthur Ashe Stadium
Day session: from 2:00am AEST
[1] Iga Swiatek (POL) vs Sloane Stephens (USA)
Federico Coria (ARG) vs [3] Carlos Alcaraz (ESP)
Night session: 9:00am AEST
Lucie Hradecka (CZE)/Linda Noskova (CZE) vs Serena Williams (USA)/Venus Williams (USA)
Fabio Fognini (ITA) vs [2] Rafael Nadal (ESP)
Louis Armstrong Stadium
Day session: 1:00am AEST
Aliaksandra Sasnovich vs [8] Jessica Pegula (USA)
Christopher Eubanks (USA) vs [11] Jannik Sinner (ITA)
Linda Fruhvirtova (CZE) vs [9] Garbine Muguruza (ESP)
Night session: from 9:00am AEST
Cristina Busca (ESP) vs [19] Danielle Collins (USA)
Hugo Gaston (FRA)/Lorenzo Musetti (ITA) vs [8] Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS)/Nick Kyrgios (AUS)
Grandstand
From 1:00am AEST
[25] Borna Coric (CRO) vs Jenson Brooksby (USA)
Anhelina Kalinina (UKR) vs [21] Petra Kvitova (CZE)
Leylah Fernandez (CAN)/Daria Saville (AUS) vs [2] Coco Gauff (USA)/Jessica Pegula (USA)
Jason Kubler (AUS) vs [22] Frances Tiafoe (USA)
Court 17
From 1:00am AEST
Marta Kostyuk (UKR) vs [26] Victoria Azarenka
[4] Paula Badosa (ESP) vs Petra Martic (CRO)
[17] Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) vs Brandon Nakashima (USA)
Not before 5:00pm (7:00am AEST)
[19] Denis Shapovalov (CAN) vs Roberto Carballes Baena (ESP)
Court 5
From 1:00am AEST
[15] Marin Cilic (CRO) vs Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP)
Alize Cornet (FRA) vs Katerina Siniakova (CZE)
Kwon Soon-woo (TPE) vs [9] Andrey Rublev
Kaia Kanepi (EST) vs [6] Aryna Sabalenka
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