September 01, (THEWILL) – With a fascinating victory over the second-seeded Anett Kontaveit on Wednesday night, Serena Williams show continued, as she sharply advanced to the third round of the US Open, delaying for at least another two days what she has firmly intimated may be the final competition of her illustrious career.
The 23-time major singles winner, who entered the competition ranked 605th and had only won one match in 450 days, prevailed in a nail-biting tiebreaker in the first set before Kontaveit — the Estonian world number 2 player, broke twice in the second set to force a deciding.
Williams created yet another thrill on the main show court of the tournament she has won six times after a trade of service breaks early in the third. She then broke again and held on through the finish line.
Williams quietly raised a fist toward her player box amid the roars of more than 23,000 supporters, who had filled the corners of Arthur Ashe Stadium after she crunched a backhand winner past her opponent on match point. It had lasted two hours and 27 minutes.
In a suddenly very open portion of the women’s draw, Williams moves on to face Australian, Ajla Tomljanovi, in the third round on Friday.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
