The plan to "evolve away from tennis" has been delayed for a few more days, as Serena Williams fought back to topple World No.2 Anett Kontaveit and advance to the third round at the US Open.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion's fighting spirit was on full display in her 7-6(4) 2-6 6-2 win over the second seed, as she dug deep to rally back from a disappointing second set.
Williams looked focused as she traded groundstrokes with Kontaveit from the baseline, with the American being more aggressive with her approaches to the net. This led to her eventually taking the first set, after both ladies refused to yield and force a tiebreak.
The second set saw Kontaveit dominate, as the Estonian reminded fans why she was ranked as the second best player in the world. Despite the support of the crowd, Williams was unable to power past her confident foe and soon saw herself entering a decider with an opponent who had considerably more match experience this year.
Nonetheless, it was the American who broke first, and after being immediately broken back, Williams secured another break and never looked back. With the crowd fully on her side, the 40-year old displayed shades of her younger self as she dominated play from the baseline, before ending points at the net. A splendid backhand winner down the line sealed the match for Williams, who advanced after an exhausting two hours and 27 minutes.
Up next for the WTA legend is Australian Ajla Tomljanovic, who has never faced Williams on the WTA circuit.
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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