The American, who is about to retire, beats the world number two at the US Open and is in the third round
The US Open looked like a farewell walk for Serena Williams, but the American is reluctant to leave and now has two wins in New York that place her in the third round of the final Grand Slam of her career. The 23 Majors winner continues to extend her sporting life by defeating Anett Kontaveit 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2 and will be in the third round of the US Open next Friday.
The youngest of the Williams, who announced her decision to retire after this tournament a few weeks ago, played the best game in a year and a half to leave the world’s number two on the road and give himself another chance to grow in the table. The six-time US Open winner recovered her physical freshness, superior service and strength and aggressiveness to take out one of the best in the world on hard courts like Kontaveit.
The 11 aces and 38 winning shots were the key to Serena’s victory on a level far superior to her debut. Infected by the quality of her rival, Serena, the best of all time, sealed a first series of ups and downs with a perfect tiebreak, topped off with an instant service reminiscent of the Serena of yesteryear.
The crowd was with her and Kontaveit, who had never faced the American before, was outmatched, but took advantage of Serena’s logical slump in the second set to accelerate without braking. The second set was scored 6-2 with a Serena more focused on what was to come later. At 40, days away from her 41st birthday, Serena saved up energy to play everything in the third set after nearly two hours of play.
“I love these situations,” Serena added later. The American always proved to be one step ahead of Kontaveit, physically and mentally exhausted. Serena became a constant threat on the Estonian’s service, breaking it up to three times to take a spectacular and deserved win. “I have nothing to prove, I have nothing to lose,” he said at the foot of the track. “I’m Serena, this is what I do,” she replied when she was praised for knocking out the second best tennis player in the world according to the rankings.
From the stands, a Tiger Woods cheered her win, which is largely responsible for Serena’s decision to play this tournament, as it was he who, in conversation, urged her to try for another two weeks.
The second chapter of Serena’s farewell also ended with a win and in the third session, next Friday night, she will face Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic, who defeated Russian Evgeniya Rodina 1-6, 6-2, 7-5. It will be the first confrontation between the Australian, number 46 in the world, and the American.
“I still have something in there”, concluded Serena after a last dance that will last a little longer.
Source: La Verdad
I’m an experienced news author and editor based in New York City. I specialize in covering healthcare news stories for Today Times Live, helping to keep readers informed on the latest developments related to the industry. I have a deep understanding of medical topics, including emerging treatments and drugs, the changing laws that regulate healthcare providers, and other matters that affect public health.
