Tokyo, 1 September, /AJMEDIA/
Serena Williams can call it “evolving” or “retiring” or whatever she wants. And she can be coy about whether or not this U.S. Open will actually mark the end of her playing days. Those 23 Grand Slam titles earned that right.
If she keeps playing like this, who knows how long this farewell will last?
No matter what happens once her trip to Flushing Meadows is over, here is what is important to know after Wednesday night: The 40-year-old Williams is still around, she’s still capable of terrific tennis, she’s still winning — and, like the adoring spectators whose roars filled Arthur Ashe Stadium again — she’s ready for more.
Williams eliminated No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2 in the U.S. Open’s second round to ensure that she will play at least one more singles match at what she’s hinted will be the last tournament of her illustrious career.
“There’s still a little left in me,” Williams said with a smile during her on-court interview.
“This is what I do best,” she added. “I love a challenge and I’m rising to the challenge.”
Oh, is she ever. After beating 80th-ranked Danka Kovinic in straight sets Monday, then collecting her 23rd victory in her past 25 matches against someone ranked No. 1 or No. 2 against Kontaveit on Wednesday, the six-time champion at Flushing Meadows will play Friday for a spot in the fourth round. Her opponent will be Ajla Tomljanovic, a 29-year-old Australian.
Asked how she’s doing it so far, Williams replied with a hearty laugh: “Well, I’m a pretty good player.”
In other women’s action, third-seeded Maria Sakkari was ousted 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 by Wang Xiyu of China in the second round.
Sakkari reached two Grand Slam semifinals last year but has had a difficult time backing up her success in 2022, acknowledging this week that she struggled to handle a higher profile that came with her rise to No. 3 in the rankings. She said some days she didn’t enjoy tennis and didn’t even want to get out of bed.
The Greek said she was happier coming into this tournament but her game just wasn’t quite good enough against the 75th-ranked Wang, who advanced past the second round of a major for the first time.
“It’s disappointing, it hurts, because I was feeling better, I was enjoying myself, feeling good on the court and it was just very disappointing that my level was that low today,” Sakkari said.
No. 12 Coco Gauff and 20th-seeded Madison Keys avoided the trouble, setting up a third-round matchup between the Americans. Gauff beat Elena Gabriela Ruse 6-2, 7-6 (4), while 2017 U.S. Open runner-up Keys outlasted Camili Giorgi 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (6).
Gauff was two points from dropping the second set at 5-3 before the 18-year old rallied, something she said demonstrates an aspect of her game that wasn’t there early in the season but could make the French Open finalist a threat now.
“Today down love-30, 5-3, definitely could have threw it in the can and got ready for the third set. Same at 15-40. But I didn’t,” Gauff said. “I feel like that shows growth. I feel like in the past, those are games I would have lost. Yeah, it’s about learning, and I think I’m learning.”
Sakkari’s loss came after defending champion Emma Raducanu and two-time winner Naomi Osaka were eliminated Tuesday night in the first round. That left Bianca Andreescu, who beat Williams in the 2019 final, as the most recent U.S. Open women’s champion still in the field.
Coming off her run to the Wimbledon finals, No. 5 Ons Jabeur matched her best U.S. Open result with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Elizabeth Mandlik, the daughter of 1985 champion Hana Mandlikova. Jabeur lost in the third round in each of her last three trips to New York.
“I have a mission,” Jabeur said. “I’m No. 5 in the world, so for me I’m trying to represent that number as much as I can so I can really improve my game and I can really continue and improve my ranking, hopefully.”
She will play American Shelby Rogers, the No. 31 seed who beat Viktoria Kuzmova 7-5, 6-1.
Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray rebounded quickly after dropping the first set to power past American Emilio Nava 5-7, 6-3, 6-1, 6-0 and set up a third-round meeting with No. 13 seed Matteo Berrettini.
No. 23 Nick Kyrgios overcame France’s Benjamin Bonzi and the smell of marijuana that bothered him inside Louis Armstrong Stadium. The Wimbledon runner-up already knows the challenge presented by the New York noise, but this time it was by its scent.
“People don’t know, I’m a heavy asthmatic,” Kyrgios said after his 7-6 (3), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory. “When I’m running side to side, I’m struggling to breathe. Probably not something I want to be breathing in in between points.”
